


All The King's Men

by ConfessorKahlan



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Agony, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Background Case, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Deviant Upgraded Connor | RK900, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Enthusiastic Consent, F/F, F/M, Female Gavin Reed, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Idiots in Love, Inappropriate Humor, Kidnapping, Love Triangles, Mild Sexual Content, Multi, Not Beta Read, Period-Typical Racism, Permanent Injury, Pet Names, Polyamory, Post-Peaceful Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Protective, Self-Indulgent, Sexual Humor, Sexual Tension, Some Plot, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Threesome - F/M/M, Torture, Unconventional Families, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:14:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22646995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConfessorKahlan/pseuds/ConfessorKahlan
Summary: After the events relating to her past are resolved Gavin finally returns to the DCPD with a secret. She's romantically involved with Connor and Nines. Together the three learn together what it means to each of them to be human.
Relationships: Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Gavin Reed
Kudos: 7





	1. The altar's calling, but my legs won't seem to stand.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wish that everyone I knew was dead  
> So that I'd never have to pick up the phone  
> I just wanna be naked  
> And masturbate all day at home  
> California dreamin'  
> Oh my heart just started screamin'  
> I think I want to be alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back, back again, lol.
> 
> A few notes, If you didn't read the first story, Nines is named Raizen by Gavin. It's pronounced Rye-Zen. The boys are both dating our girl.

\----

Walking into the department's front doors was something of a revelation for Gavin, silver gray eyes glinting as sharp as a blade in the early light that broke through the glass windows. Each step was taken with great care and purpose. She timed them with the beat of the song playing in her earbuds, feeling unusually confident and powerful. Her hellcat was strapped to her shoulder, her .38 strapped to her thigh. She imbued herself with the rhythm, striding through the lobby, her first day back in six hard months. Today marked 1 year since the revolution.

In that time she'd dyed her hair back to it's natural black, and shaved one side of her head. In her skinny jeans, red long sleeve and shoulder holster with her timbs, she felt invincible. She fished out her vape, blowing out a cloud so large she felt like a vampire walking through mist. 

"No smoking in here." The android at reception complained. Her tight ponytail made her face look severe. They were nearly fully instated people now. Gavin didn't want to take an ounce of credit for that, though she'd spoken on their behalf as she'd promised. 

"It's water vapor." She said without making eye contact. If the girl had more to say, Gavin didn't hear it. She strutted through the alcove, smirking as the metal detector beeped furiously.

As she entered the bullpen she pulled a deep hit, grinning at the faces that turned to her. Tina bounded over, throwing her arms around her neck. "You're back!" 

Gavin hugged her back, squeezing hard. "You saw me two days ago, weirdo." She gave her best friend another squeeze, then held her at arms length. 

"I know but I'm so glad you're here!" Tina exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Gavin could feel the excitement coming off the woman in waves of pure energy. 

Gavin took a step back, pulling her buds from her ears. The sounds of the station came flooding in as familiar as a song she'd known all her life. The buzz and click has it's own rhythm that she adored. 

"I'll meet you in the break room? I need coffee. I just want to get him off my damn desk first." She said, flashing a knowing smile.

Tina scoffed playfully. "Sure sure." She laughed. "I'll get the machine going." With that she took a half step back and turned to leave.

"You like to make an entrance, I see." Raizen said, trying and failing to entirely hide his smile as Gavin approached her desk. He sat on the edge, dressed sharply in a suit with the jacket slung over the back of her chair. Gavin had to fight down the urge to tidy his hair. She squeezed her hand into a fist. 

"Get the fuck off my desk." She hissed menacingly, loud enough to be heard by anyone close by. " _We missed you this morning_." She mumbled, eyeing him with contempt. The android made a show of moving, writing something quickly on her notepad before stepping away to exchange pleasantries with another detective. Gavin huffed and snatched the note off her desk before turning and practically running to the break room. 

The room was quiet, as Gavin had come in early enough to beat most everyone, including the captain. Tina was wired from her overnight, and was dancing around the coffee machine, singing brightly to herself. 

Gavin chuckled, though the paper in her hand felt like it weighed a ton. She was anxious to read it. "Does Natalie know you dance for caffeine?" She said in her best snarky voice. 

Tina only danced harder, exaggerating every movement. "Don't be a hater." She exclaimed, moving merrily in what looked like a controlled seizure. 

"You're a crazy person." Gavin said, stuffing the note in her pocket as she strode over to the machine. She was pleased they still had the thin mint laté option. One thing could be said for the DCPD, they didn't skimp on the coffee. 

Tina turned her attention to Gavin, standing so close she could almost feel her vibrating. "Does Connor know you give your partner bedroom eyes when you loudly tell him to fuck off?" _Shit_. Gavin grabbed Tina, covering her mouth faster than a cobra strike. She leveled her gray eyes at her obnoxiously observant friend. 

"Maybe don't announce it to the whole fucking station, jesus." Gavin turned away, forcefully stirring her coffee. Something primal wormed around in her belly, making her feel heavy and full. It was a heady thing to be chosen by the most powerful man alive, but to be chosen by his successor? Oh to have them both. It was like a dream. She'd spent the last six months recovering more than just her health. This was, however, something she was most decidedly unwilling to share, as it broke convention in nearly every way possible. 

"Just tell me you're not cheating on Connor and I'll feel a lot better." Tina said softly, placing a judgement free hand on Gavin's arm. 

Gavin shook her off, scowling. "Of course not, fuck." Cheating would imply a lack of knowledge and consent, which was not the case. She took a large sip, regretting the extra shot of espresso, as it drowned out the flavor. 

Tina held her hands up, though her face remained suspicious. "Ok,ok. You can talk to me, that's all I'm saying." She took a step back, then smiled as she added in a teasing voice "he is hot." 

Gavin threw her plastic spoon at her friend, who dodged it entirely before laughing as she exited. "Fucking know-it-all." She grumbled over the rim of her cup. A quick look around revealed she was alone for the moment. Eagerly she fished out the note.

 _Sorry about this morning, I'll make it up tonight._  
_-R♡_  
Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest. A year ago she could barely imagine androids were alive and here she was hiding a polyamorous relationship with the two most powerful beings in existence. She couldn't imagine being happier. It felt more like the overly self indulgent fantasy of a bad writer than reality. As she walked to her desk in a daze, she saw Raizen, blue eyed and beautiful standing tall beside Connor's desk, chatting casually with the android who was nearly his twin. The yellow of his LED indicating a conversation was taking place internally between them while they exchanged pleasantries for the sake of appearances. Gavin wished she could hear it, or read it. Whichever it was. Hank was absent, usually coming in later.

She went to her desk and sat down, bringing her terminal to life with an optical scan. This was new tech, installed recently to avoid a repeat of the Linda incident. As the cases loaded, her phone vibrated.

 **TINMAN** : _Thank you for a lovely morning_.

She looked around, then took a sip of coffee before responding. 

**REED** : _I think R is jealous._ 😂  
**RAISIN** : _Disappointed is more accurate_.  
**TINMAN** : _You're the one who wanted to pull an all nighter._  
**RAISIN** : _true,what was I thinking?_ 😮

 _Case No# 17863, witness statement requested_. 

Gavin started digging through the file at hand, sipping as she read. There had been a murder, a young girl who trusted the wrong man and paid dearly for it. Gavin could relate. Her sister, Chelsea, had witnessed the entire thing, but had been so upset she hadn't given a statement yet, as she had to be hospitalized. Gavin printed the address at her desk. She was going to go down herself and get it.

"Hey, dickhead. You want to do this or are you going to ride Connor's dick all day?" She shouted at Raizen, who played his part well with a strategic eye roll before schooling his expression to neutral. "On my way, detective."

Gavin felt her face almost spasm as she tried not to cringe at her own words. This was necessary, for now. As Raizen wore the mask of serenity, Gavin wore the mask of indifference. They walked in silence to her car, the snow piling higher, it crunched below their feet. The bright light of morning bounced off the white and even his simple reflection in the window of her car was breathtakingly beautiful. Her heart stuttered in her chest. 

"Your vitals are going _crazy_ , Gavin." He drawled slowly, his voice caressing her name like a lover. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to be this close to you and not," he carefully, too briefly grabbed a lock of her hair, letting it wind between his fingers. "touch." She took a shaking breath, trying to steady herself. Someone could walk out any moment. "Not here." She hissed softly, unlocking the car with a soft click and climbing inside. Faint pressure made her stomach drop as his fingers blazed a trail of heat up the back of one of her thighs. Clearly he was more disappointed about missing the morning than he'd let on. She didn't see the wry smile that pulled Raizen's lips back over his perfect teeth.

"At the moment I'd be happy with anywhere." He complained in a whisper, watching the way she moved as he climbed into the car behind her. His preconstruction program was running the probability of getting caught if he tried his luck in the car. He could tell she was sore, even as she hid it. Raizen accessed his HUD, requesting a link with Connor. 

"She seems a little worse for wear." He commented darkly over the link once it opened. He wondered privately what she would think if she knew that they talked about her constantly. Connor's ghostly chuckle echoed softly in Raizen's mind. Gavin started the car, as it hummed to life, Connor cast an audio clip of Gavin moaning. Raizen's CPU overclocked for a short moment. 

"That does _not_ help. How do you manage all these emotions?" He asked, watching Gavin drive in his periphery. "Practice, and I sort of channel it all into her, if I'm being honest." Connor said, sounding sheepish. "I couldn't have imagined when I met you that this would be the result, but I'm happy." 

Light bounced off the chrome accents of the control panel, hitting the crescent moon charm on the necklace Connor and Raizen had given her when they'd decided together to be with her. It hung on a delicate chain around her neck. She was an ethereal goddess. She had been so worried, tortured by her desire and love. Neither android was interested in the other, but they both flooded themselves with her until she was all there was in the world. Raizen didn't respond, he simply allowed Connor access to see her, and feel the peace he felt in her presence. 

"You're suspiciously quiet." Gavin said, pulling up to a red light. She turned fully after coming to a stop, her eyes piercing all the way where Raizen's soul would be, if he believed for even a second that he had one. Connor laughed in his head. "Busted." He teased. Not to be outdone, the young android unleashed a perfectly contrite smile. 

"I was admiring your necklace, actually." It was throwing rainbows across her skin, distracting him. The statement felt innocent enough, but her heart rate briefly spiked. 

"Y'know, Tina thinks I'm cheating on Connor with you." She said, biting her lip. As she watched the crosswalk he could tell she was counting, trying to time it and gauge how long she'd be at this light. Raizen snorted. 

Connor laughed again in Raizen's head. Back at the station, he'd accidentally dropped his coin and was now having to crawl under his desk for it, which was earning him a groggy death glare from Hank. Raizen leaned back in his seat, giving her a look of mock horror. "You absolute monster." He said snidely. The light changed and the car started moving again. In his mind, Connor silently terminated the link. Raizen knew Connor needed to focus on his case and getting Hank moving took all his attention this early in the morning. 

"Laugh all you want, she pretty much jumped me in the break room." Gavin said, worrying her lip with her teeth. Raizen wanted to bite that lip. Instead he opted to change the topic, rather than comment on Tina's astuteness. 

"Witness is Chelsea Wright. 31, mother of 2. We know she was there when Robin was shot. Theories?" He asked, pulling up the file in his HUD. He'd walked the scene, and his software was accurate. He had Connor run it too, but he was interested in what the detective may have gleaned from the crime scene photos and preliminary reports. 

Gavin nodded, easily falling into step with his train of thought. "It looks like it started over money, which is typical. She had literature for domestic violence so she was at least considering leaving. Based on ATM cameras and the drugs at the scene, I imagine he took her check, and she came looking for it with her sister. An argument ensued, it got physical, she got shot. Sound about right?" Gavin asked, pulling onto a side street. Every house here had been converted into apartments, all run down. Each building looked like it was 1 safety inspection away from being condemned. It made her heart ache for the children in this neighborhood. Her assessment of the evidence was remarkably thorough. Raizen made a mental note to find out more about how she grew up. He knew she was a trust fund rich kid, but she hadn't learned these patterns of behavior from nowhere. One more mystery in the allure of Gavin Reed. 

"Sounds incredibly likely, detective. Good eye." He praised her. Her answering smile was so unguarded and lovely Raizen immediately saved a screenshot of his visual field to his memory, his thirium pump fluttered. The moment faded and he recognized her game face as her demeanor shifted and she pulled into a driveway. 

"I hate this part." She said, allowing a frown to break rank momentarily as she put the car in park. Talking to witnesses was hard no matter who you were. Even Hank had a hard time with it. 

"Let's get this over with." She said, taking a deep breath and exiting the vehicle. Raizen's LED cycled yellow for a solid 3 seconds before he followed dutifully up to the creaky porch. It groaned as they walked across it. 

Gavin knocked solidly and waited, white puffs of hot breath hanging in the air and spreading like fog across the shabby wooden door. 

The door opened a few inches, slamming to a halt on the chain lock. A red rimmed eye under a mop of messy brown hair answered through the crack. "Whatdaya want?" The small voice slurred. Raizen didn't need to be an an android to taste the liquor. He imagined he could take a breathalyzer from 4 feet away and still get an accurate reading. 

"Ma'am I'm detective Reed, this is my partner Raizen. We're here to get your statement on the incident with Robin." Gavin said in a persuasive tone, none of her usual sarcasm present. "May we come in?" She asked, just enough measured authority in her voice that the question sounded like the kind that was politely rhetorical. 

The door closed then opened fully. The smell of cat urine and cigarettes was heavy in the stale air that came through the door. Gavin had to remind herself not to be judgemental as she was ushered inside. 

_Ugh, fucking gross_. 

Raizen closed the door behind them, noting that it stuck in the frame due to the bottom being warped. He entertained himself momentarily by imagining throwing the small detective over his shoulder and making a run for it. He'd almost prefer to stand outside in the snow. 

They followed Chelsea into a sitting room that was covered in ashes from impossibly full ashtrays. Every surface had burns in it or on it. He noticed when Gavin hesitated to sit. Chelsea didn't. She sat across from them, pulling a small dirty blanket into her lap. "Robin just wanted to get out, y'know? That motherfucker Josh." She sneered, lighting a cigarette. "Do you need me to write and sign something?" She asked, blowing smoke into the air without tilting her head back. 

Gavin shook her head slowly. "No, he's recording this interview, just start at the beginning. Tell us everything you remember. No detail is unimportant." Gavin said smoothly, trying not to wrinkle her nose. She gestured to Raizen, who sat completely straight next to her. His thigh almost touching hers made her heart patter faster. 

Chelsea pointed her chin at the android. "Partner, huh?" She said, curling a thin lip over her teeth before coughing into her elbow. "Never could afford one. I'm glad for it now. I know what it's like to have no control over my own life." She took a puff of her cigarette. 

Gavin sat dumbfounded, her rebuttal dead on her tongue. Raizen had been born free, and so never knew the life his people lived. This woman didn't need to know that, so the detective said nothing. She gave her partner a meaningful glance, allowing herself a small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all so I made a change to the previous story that if you haven't read before today you won't notice but I changed some things so David the wonder-guard was murdered "off screen" because I'm lazy. So when he comes up in this story, for reference to those who missed it, Linda killed a guy Gavin knew growing up. Boom 💥 Now we're all on the same page.


	2. Well it's funny as hell, but no one laughs when they get there.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, we'll call it all believing in the art  
> There's evidence and remnants of a spark  
> A strong belief there'll be a better part  
> When the hoping ends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe moving toward a general plot here, and then in a few chapters we're gonna go back to the time jump and get our angst on. Also to avoid confusion, obviously this Josh is an oc plot device 😎

\----

Gavin busied her hands over the keys, typing up a transcript of the recorded interview with Chelsea Wright. It had been an eye opening experience for the young detective. Chelsea lived like shit, but her demeanor was refreshing. Gavin frequently found herself warmed to people with that temperament.

It was the beginning of the shift change, and most everyone had filed out for the evening. The sunset through the windows was a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors that danced down the walls, lending a feeling of warmth in these hard winter months. 

"Good to have you back, Reed." Jeff said, his voice rumbling as he closed and locked his office. He moved down the steps slowly, walking over at a measured, unhurried pace. His features were kind, relaxed. It was a very welcome change from the tension normally held in his posture. 

Gavin laughed freely. "Cap, I never thought I'd hear you say that." She leaned back in her chair, throwing her feet up on her desk and crossing her ankles. 

"I don't _enjoy_ being an asshole, contrary to what you may think." He teased, sliding his arms into his coat. 

"I bring out the best in people. What can I say?" She said with a wink. 

Though Gavin was clearly joking, Jeff found there was a simple truth to her words. During the revolution Connor had been the one to bring Hank back from the brink and then, through Gavin, Connor had found where he fit. Now, the three of them were helping Raizen to acclimate and become an individual. Things head a way of coming full circle, and though Jeff didn't consider himself to be any kind of superior intelligence, he could see the beautiful symmetry in how it all worked out. 

"I got you something, since the guys have their coins. Now you can calibrate too." Jeff said, holding out a tiny object in his hand. 

Gavin perked up, suspicion giving way to excited amusement. She laughed again, harder this time, as Jeff handed her a fidget spinner. "This is amazing." She said, giggling. It was beyond perfect. "Now I can be part of the cool kids club." She chortled. "Thanks."

Jeff smiled proudly. "You're welcome. Go home when you're done with that report, yeah?" He motioned to the door. 

"No, I thought I'd stay here and sleep under my desk." She said, half sarcastic, giggling at the amiable expression that came to Jeff's face.

He clicked his tongue. "Sure kid." He gave her shoulder a pat as he walked by, headed for the door. "Goodnight!" He waved to her, and to Connor and Hank who were typing furiously at their keyboards. If only he'd known they were gaming together, instead of working. Something they'd adopted recently to blow off steam, and it worked. 

Gavin smiled down at the toy in her hand, giving it a spin. It was remarkably well balanced and the action was soothing. Strange, the things that brought her comfort. She watched it glide, seemingly caught in it's own inertia as it moved. A vibration in her pocket brought her attention back to reality. 

**RAISIN** : _I have Josh Wright in custody_.

The hair on the back of Gavin's neck stood. He'd gone without her. Heat flooded her center, equal parts relief and annoyance. " _Goddamnit_." She hissed, hoping it was soft enough that Connor wouldn't hear it. Her heart fluttered. 

"Gavin?" She managed not to shriek when Connor appeared silently beside her seat. "Fucking vampires!" She barked out, clutching a hand over her chest. 

The android chuckled darkly, sitting on her desk and positioning himself to have the detective between his knees. There was a heady air of authority in his posture that was at once relaxed and commanding. 

_Can't do this here_. She met his eyes defiantly, refusing to surrender in the one place she was on equal footing. "Raizen picked up our suspect without me." She conceded, crossing her arms. God, he was at just the right height. She could so easily lean forward and-

"I'm gonna take off." Hank said, smiling wryly. 

"Goodnight, lieutenant." Connor answered without looking away from Gavin. "Bye Hank." She said holding her boyfriend's gaze. It always made her smitten the way Connor could engineer an intimate moment out of thin air, no matter where they were or who was around.

Still, he couldn't bend her over her desk, though the look on his face expressed the desire to do exactly that. Muscles deep in her belly tightened, shifting her center of gravity low in her hips. If she could purr, she would. Two could play this game.

She leaned forward, placing a hand on each of Connor's thighs with a sly smirk. Slowly she stood, pressing on his legs. She let him feel her body as she rose. "Surrender." She whispered, leaving less than an inch between their lips. Heat rolled off him in waves. Refusing to be swayed he kissed her so softly she could have imagined it entirely. "No." He breathed, carefully tucking her hair behind her ear. 

_Flirty android_. She loved this side of Connor. "Fine, suit yourself." She said, pressing a kiss of her own to his lips. "I think I'll go get a cell ready for Josh." She turned and strode away, smirking to herself. 

Connor's HUD slammed his mind and visual field with notifications. Raizen had been correct this morning. He noted her movements were 12% less efficient than normal. He frowned inwardly, trying to examine the emotions this realization invoked. On the one hand, it was his mark, after a fashion. It served as proof he'd been with her. On the other hand, he'd damaged her, and she'd had to compensate. A quick search categorized this as ambivalence. 

As he prepared to go help, a voice brought him up short, shouting from the entrance. "Get off me you fucking android!" It seemed Raizen had arrived with their suspect.

"Excellent timing." Connor said quietly, knowing the other android would hear him. He could also hear the influx of the next shift, boots echoing on the tile, conversations floating on the air like whispers of silk on the breeze. His preconstruction ended, nothing more than a passing glance at a fantasy rendered moot. He would have to find another chance to create a moment with the Detective. 

"Wanna take this shithead straight to interview 1?" Gavin asked as she returned to Connor's side, cocking her head slightly as Raizen led the young man into the room. He looked every bit the moron he sounded, wearing overlarge clothes that sagged at every opportunity. 

"Oh look, a human. Finally! Get this thing off me!" Josh struggled to step forward, halting midstep when Raizen gingerly jerked him backwards by the handcuffs affixed to his wrists. Even being careful, he nearly pulled the human off his feet entirely. "Watch it, asshole!" Josh spat angrily. 

"Since he's feeling loquacious I suppose that's a good idea." Raizen said, rolling his eyes. The humanity of the gesture made Gavin's heart flutter nervously. She nodded, stepping aside. "I'll meet you there." 

"Oh come on. Don't leave me with this thing." Josh whined as Raizen pushed him forward, beginning the walk to the interview room. The bullpen was filling up with personnel. Gavin turned to Connor. "If you go home feed Omen for me?" 

Connor knew Gavin didn't want to go first, the attack was still fresh on her mind. Even moving hadn't calmed her fear. He could see it in the way she absently ran her fingers over the scar that ran down the middle of her hand. When she was anxious, she would worry the scar tissue with her thumb. She'd lost a portion of her mobility in that hand. Any time she had to deal with an aggressive man, she got anxious. Of course she didn't ever say so, and never tried to avoid her job. She was ever the martyr. Falling on her sword instead of asking for help or admitting she was overwhelmed. Still, she had come a long way in the last 6 months. His HUD notified him of the changes in her body, signaling stress. He set an alarm to ring if her adrenaline and cortisol levels rose beyond 20%.

"I thought I might hang around till we have Mr. Wright booked and then maybe we could all go home together tonight." Connor said, running a hand through his hair. 

Gavin narrowed her eyes suspiciously, blowing a heavy breath through her nose. She didn't need a babysitter. She'd been actively trying to be nicer. An endeavor for which she'd found a simple formula. All she had to do was say the opposite of what she was thinking. More often than not, she failed. "That'd be a nice change." Connor spread himself too thin by her standards. He was always looking out for her, Raizen and Hank. She wondered if androids could exhaust themselves. 

Connor grinned. "Keep the dream alive." He chuckled, making a show of crossing his fingers. His eyes followed her as she made her way to the back of the station, worry making creases in his thoughts that interrupted and refocused his mind on her. She was an endless loop, bombarding him always with new information to fret over and analyze.

He took a moment, sitting at her desk, to organize her personal items, and to hide a few jellybeans. This game he was particularly fond of. He didn't know if she ever ate them when she found them. Probably not, but he enjoyed leaving them in unusual places. It helped her stay grounded, having the subtle reminder he was around. 

Realizing he probably had some time to kill, Connor used his HUD to text Hank.

 **RK80051** : _Good evening, lieutenant. Are you making use of the groceries I stocked in the kitchen?_  
 **HANK** : _Connor, fuck off_ 😎

Connor rolled his eyes and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't need to emote, but it had become a habit. 

**RK80051** : _Do I need to come over there and cook for you so you'll eat properly?_  
 **HANK** : _I've made it this far without you, lol_  
 **RK80051** : A _miracle. Those burgers are an abomination._  
 **HANK** : _I'm here for a good time, not a long time._

Connor snorted as he installed the game he played with Hank on Gavin's computer so she could play too if she found herself inclined. A few knowing clicks and he disabled the firewall that prevented her from using the internet to it's full potential. She would appreciate the distraction, he was 78% sure.

 **RK80051** : _I hope you'll be here for a long time too, Hank._  
 **HANK** : _Don't you put that existential burden on me, Con._

Connor allowed himself a brief fantasy of strangling his partner. It was cartoonish, as he used his imagination instead of his preconstruction software, something he'd been attempting more often, now that he understood the distinction between them. 

**RK80051** : _Just eat the goddamn vegetables, lieutenant._  
 **HANK** : _bahahaha you sound like Gavin_

The android felt the urge to scream. He held his breath until it passed. Over the last year he had picked up more and more of what Raizen called "Gavin-isms", and in so doing became more of his own man, and human in more ways than he'd expected. He leaned back in her chair, taking in the sounds of the room around him as only an android could. 

Time slowed to an agonizing crawl. The alarm in Connor HUD shot up, sending an uncomfortable shock of static down the nerve wiring around his spine. He could hear Gavin yelling. He scrambled out of her chair and moved with inhuman speed to the interview room, feeling the thirium woosh as it rushed through his synthetic veins. He ignored officers who yelped as he passed too close to them on his flight. 

"Don't fucking move Josh. I'd hate to get suspended my first day back for breaking your goddamn fool neck." Gavin snarled at the other human from where she kneeled on his back, her hand pressing his face into the floor. She looked no worse for wear. Connor relaxed on his side of the glass. 

"I got him." Raizen said in a deadly calm voice. He and Gavin exchanged a glance for a moment. Eventually she nodded and moved to allowed the larger android to yank the human to his feet and drop him unceremoniously back into the metal chair. Her cortisole levels were decreasing steadily. Raizen scowled, cuffing Josh to the table again. 

As Gavin went to sit she passed Raizen, she placed a hand over his arm, looking contrite.

"Got any more handcuff keys hidden anywhere Josh?" She asked as she flopped irritably into her chair. 

"Go fuck yourself, race traitor." The loathsome creature spat. To her credit, Gavin looked bored. She didn't see the twitch in Raizen's hand as he no doubt fought back the urge to do violence.

"You fuck this one?" He pressed his luck. How utterly predictable. Connor crossed his arms over his chest. It always came down to some kind of moronic need to dehumanize women by trying to pry into their sexuality. 

Gavin grinned like the cheshire cat, lips pulled back over her teeth in a way that was far more threatening than it should be on a human. "This one, and the one in the other room too." She said in false solidarity. Her eyes were near glowing with the ferocity in her expression. "What's that, jealousy? I don't blame you. My boys are far superior." The woman had a metaphorical forked tongue, and the pride in her statement nearly knocked Connor flat. Raizen stood at her back, covering his grin with a hand. Connor could see the faint blue blush. Josh looked like someone ran over his dog. Connor carefully accessed the footage on the security server, corrupting the audio where Gavin admitted to sleeping with both androids. A notification on his HUD warned against tampering. He dismissed it immediately. She wasn't ready for others to know, and with that in mind, he protected their secrecy. 

"What are you going to do when somebody breaks your toys?" Josh sneered. 

"Maybe I'll kill them like you did Robin." Gavin retorted, disdainfully. "See I thought it was about money, but I think now it was jealousy." Gavin grinned, drumming her fingers on the metal table. "There's a word for that. Help me out." She said conversationally, lifting her hand as if to pluck the word from the air. 

"Pathetic." Raizen offered with a malicious grin. His blue eyes glittered with amusement. "Impotent." He added, grinning wider when Gavin laughed. 

"Is that it, Josh? Robin was underwhelmed?" She snickered as the man's face turned a brighter red.

"Give me 5 minutes alone with you bitch, I could rock your world." He snapped back petulantly. 

Gavin laughed freely. "5 minutes? That's the best you can do? No wonder Robin was leaving you." She scoffed as she once again found herself playing 'who's dick is bigger' with the cast of interchangeable parts. That game was rigged. She laughed again privately to herself.

"Bitch ain't going anywhere now." He seethed. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to make me say I did it. Sorry. Not gonna happen."

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Gavin rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well. Neither are you." She said, dropping the pretense of humor and leveling him with cold steel eyes. Josh leaned away, looking between Gavin and Raizen and finally, the 2 way mirror. 

"We done here or what?" Josh asked, fighting to hide the tremor in his leg. The chick was bad enough, but the android behind her looked like it wanted to eat him. He had no delusions that he'd win that fight. She trusted that thing in her bedroom? It was unnatural and according to her she was fucking two of them. He shuddered despite himself. If Robin hadn't been such a bitch she'd still be alive. Josh knew AJ was going to do something crazy when he found out about this, and then by some hideous irony, the pig that arrests him is the same one the guy preaches about. These two fuckwits had no idea what they'd stumbled into, but they would. "I'll take that phone call before I go to my cell if it's all the same to you." Josh said with a knowing smirk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is coming to me slowly but I think we've got something good here.


	3. Fingertips Have Memories, Mine Can't Forget The Curves Of Your Body.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feel your body closing, I can rip it open  
> Suck me up, I'm healing for the shit you're dealing  
> Smoke on your skin to get those pretty eyes rolling  
> My thighs are apart for when you're ready to breathe in  
> Suck me up, I'm healing with all the shit you're dealing  
> Motherfucker, get your mouth open, you know you're mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got some fluff and smut before we get into things.

\----

Gavin wasn't sure what was more soothing as she worked over the stove, the sizzling or the smell. She'd decided on beef stir fry when she discovered the desire for greasy comfort food was sitting like a dragon over her belly, holding all other thoughts hostage until it was heeded.

The boys sat on the couch, watching the 12th season of Container Homes and discussing the merits of the designs. The show made her want to download the Sims just to build houses. Something she did a lot as a kid. 

"You guys need a hobby." Gavin said, stirring.

"I have a hobby, which I would gladly indulge in were she not cooking at the moment." Connor rebuttaled immediately, winking at Raizen who grinned, then barked a laugh when a plastic ladle rebounded off the back of Connor's head. 

Gavin was doubling over in the kitchen. "Shit, sorry! That wasn't supposed to _actually_ hit you." She howled with laughter. 

Connor's HUD had given the proximity warning, but the space between the warning and impact were too narrow and in a rare turn, he'd been hit rather than catching the damn thing. Gavin also had a habit of throwing things as a means of expression. He rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh. "If you're trying to pick a fight detective I warn you I'm quite up to the task at the moment."

Raizen guffawed, blushing brighter. He turned to Gavin, grateful the open concept allowed interaction between spaces. She pointed the spatula at both androids as she spoke. "He's threatening me with sex. If either of you try anything before I've eaten I swear to god." She made a show of passing the utensil across her throat. A universal symbol for _I'll kill you_. Both androids laughed heartily.

"We wouldn't dare interrupt the little wolf's meal." Connor said with a sarcastic smile, sinking deeper into the cushions. He hoped to avoid the next flying object though he predicted with 98% certainty the wouldn't be one. Connor's HUD lit up with an incoming text. 

**HANK** : _caught a case. Need u @ 15 riverside drive_  
 **RK80051** : _I'll meet you there._

Connor frowned. He'd hoped to celebrate Gavin's return. With a sigh he forwarded the text to Raizen, who frowned as well as the older android stood. "I have to go back to work." He said, approaching Gavin. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet as she worked over the food, her hair in a high ponytail swayed with her movements. "I'll be back tonight, hopefully." He said regretfully. She turned to him and pouted her full lips, sending his thirium pump into a stuttering rhythm that ached. "It's the job." She said with sad resignation. She caught his arm as he started to turn and yanked him back around to face her. Her silver eyes glinting dangerously. "Be fucking careful, please." Her transparent anxiety made the android malleable in her expert hands. She pulled him into a kiss by the collar of his shirt. She hated when he was on call. Connor tangled both hands in her hair, pulling her head back. Biteing his lip she dragged him with her, breathing hard through her nose. "I'm serious. It's one year to the day and people are bound to act stupid." She pressed, reluctant to let him leave.

"I'll be fine. Eat your food." He nuzzled her face, taking in a deep pull of her scent. Jasmine and sunshine and freedom. He let it seep into every part of him, bringing with it a calm he'd never known before her. His fingers lightly traced the crescent moon pendant that hung around her neck. It was a promise between the three of them to always be together. That they were their own brand of family. "I will be home before you miss me." He said softly against her lips. She growled in response.   
\----  
Raizen had been monitoring the police bands and watching yet another episode of Container Homes so he didn't hear Gavin as she she came out of the kitchen with a big bowl of stir fry. She flopped down next to him. On the outside nothing happened. Inside his HUD fired a proximity warning too late that stopped half way and slammed into an error so hard it glitched his visual receptors for .2 seconds and forced a reboot. This, he decided, was what being startled must be like for androids, and it was uncomfortable in the extreme. He suddenly felt immense sympathy for Gavin's phobia of balloons. 

"How can you watch this shit?" She complained, shoveling food into her mouth. She watched him carefully, struck smitten by the crooked smirk that came to his face. 

"Eat your food and quit criticizing my choices in garbage tv." He said, letting his eyes roam over her. She wasn't wearing much in the way of clothing. A simple sports bra and a pair of magenta shorts with cartoon owls on them. He pursued his lips. "Besides, these homes are really efficient. I'm betting Elijah would jump at the chance to build one for you, if you asked." He said absently. The easy familiarity Raizen shared with Gavin's older brother had done more than the android would've thought possible to heal the fractured relationship between his creator and his lover. Gavin waived her hand dismissively. "Who says I want one?" She shook her head. "This apartment is fine." She said, using a foot to fend off Omen, who was circling her in an endeavour to stick his face in her bowl. He didn't actually want the food, he never did. He did however need to confirm this for himself. "Do me a favor, Raizen." She said as he pulled the tenacious feline into his arms. "Don't ever go after a suspect without me again." He turned his head fully as her clipped tone.

Having everything she wanted out of life only gave her more to lose, more that could be taken away. The anxiety that knowledge invoked was omnipresent and one of several reasons she didn't want it known. Aside from the fact that Raizen would be reassigned, these sort of relationships were poorly handled by some people. Hank hadn't been wrong when he'd warned her that it would be dangerous.

Raizen's LED flickered yellow. He allowed Omen to hop from his lap as his HUD notified him of Gavin's stress rising. "I promise I won't." He said easily, wiping his hands down his slacks. His gaze followed Gavin as she took her bowl to the sink. Her shorts sat low over her hips, exposing the mesmerizing way her muscle moved under her skin. The intricate design of her kraken tattoo was one his favorite things to spend his time examining. The central mass of the tattoo sat over her ribcage on her right. Tentacles curled down over her hip, the top of her thigh and ended under her buttock. The shading and detail gave the illusion the animal was hugged securely to her body. "Human beings are the absolute shittiest creatures on this planet, Raizen. There are people who would kill you just because of the way you're looking at me right now." She said, coming to stand before him where he sat on the couch.

He didn't mind that she was annoyed, worried and blocking the tv. He didn't mind the lecture. She was right. He could pull a dozen or more files from his memory that supported that very unfortunate truth. Human men especially seemed offended by Gavin's choices in partners and though the android theoretically understood the concept of jealousy he had no practical grasp on that emotion specifically. He pulled the small human down to straddle his lap. 

She went willingly, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I've seen it go so wrong. A year ago, they were shooting androids in the street. Rounding them up, killing them. I can still see the thirium in the snow when I close my eyes. I was barely aware of how horrified I should have been then. I couldn't see the genocide for what it was, even as they begged for their lives." She shuddered against him, anchoring herself in the solid feel of his body under hers. He could feel the tears falling onto his shoulder and wrapped her in a tight hug. 

"Did you participate?" He asked hesitantly. 

"No." She blanched immediately. "Hell no. I just didn't do anything to stop it, which is just as bad. They were just broken machines. I had no idea. Not till much later." Disgust, fear and anger had tunneled into her soul and built a home inside her. The anxiety was overwhelming as it pressed itself against her and suffocated every other emotion she tried to feel. 

"That wasn't your fault." He was positive Connor felt much the same way. The probability of anyone making the transformation she had was low enough. This beautiful woman was tormented by the ghosts of the revolution, as if she didn't have her own demons to wrestle with, and somehow she felt this translated into her being a shitty person. "You have done so much since then that is worthy of admiration." He said, gently pulling his fingers through her hair. 

" _Nothing_ about me is fucking worthy, Raizen." She hissed. "Not a damn thing." She could almost handle the the bullshit with Donovan, and Linda and the fucking revolution but these androids treating her like she was some kind of hero felt like drowning. It didn't escape her notice she was once again failing to be nice.

She didn't understand it wasn't a distorted hero worship that endeared them to her. She was a survivor, and the immense power that fact had imbued her with was a cataclysmic bonding agent. Both androids had been drawn to her the way infants instinctively know to take their first breath. She brought them to life. 

Raizen hissed menacingly, tweaking his vocal chip to sound reptilian. Gavin's body tensed. Message recieved. He'd learned by accident that Gavin responded unconsciously to auditory cues on instinct. The sounds expressed a range of emotions when words failed. He held her tighter, nuzzling his face in her hair. He didn't want to argue with her, even if she was entirely wrong in her assessment. "I love you anyway." He said in a soft conciliatory tone. The pleasure of feeling her bare skin under his hands was enough to temper his outrage at her self deprecating remarks. He was rewarded by the silent vibrations of her laughter. 

"So basically, you're fucked." She said, pulling back with a grin. 

That smile sent pleasure ricocheting down the android's spine to settle in his pelvis. "The greatest tragedy of my life is that I don't know any better. You're a monster, Gavin." He said, drawing his brows together. He grasped her hair, pulling gently to tilt her head back. She resisted exposing her neck with a breathless whimper.

"What are you still doing here? You should be _running_." She spoke with no conviction. Squeezing her eyes closed as Raizen's teeth dragged across her throat. Pleasure and trepidation mixed potently, holding the breath in her lungs without her conscious decision to do so. Pressure built uncomfortably in her chest.

"Never." The android half snarled, pulling tighter on her hair. " _Breathe_ , baby." He commanded, nipping her neck where it met her shoulder. She obstinately continued to hold her breath. A new path occurred to him in the moment. He switched his grip and pulled her forward as he raised his face to meet hers, crushing their lips together. "You're safe with me." He growled into her mouth, relieved when he felt the rush of her breath over his lips. She moaned into the kiss, sounding wounded and tortured. 

The words echoed inside her. _You're safe with me_. They fought back the darkness that was rising through her. Just as she feared she'd be swallowed entirely Raizen grounded her, tying down and dominating her fear. He understood what she needed on an animal level, which alone was unfathomable. Androids didn't have millions of years of evolution to lean on. He shouldn't know any of this. She cupped his face in her hands, desperately devouring him. 

He hummed appreciatively, running his tongue over the roof of her mouth. She shivered, rolling her hips down over his hardness. " _Fuck_." He hissed, sucking her lip into his mouth. As he opened the front of his pants it struck him again as it had the first time and nearly every time that it was strange that he knew how to do this with no programming to guide him. As she seated herself fluidly over him, loose shorts pulled aside, he only knew he wanted, desired, lusted beyond reasoning. The way her body stretched to accommodate him sent waves of pleasure washing over him, dragging him further away from sanity with each stroke.   
\----  
Gavin was too warm when she felt Connor slide into the bed behind her. She inched closer to Raizen in a bid to make room. "Time?" She asked, refusing to open her eyes and risk losing her grip on sleep entirely. She knew no matter what his answer was it wouldn't be enough by a long shot. "3am." He said softly, planting a sweet kiss on her shoulder. "Bullshit." She complained as the darkness closed in around her again.

Raizen looked troubled as he caught Connor's gaze. He requested a link, not wanting to risk interfacing or speaking and disturbing the woman between them. The younger android's LED was spinning yellow. He pulled the comforter up over her shoulders as the link opened in his HUD. 

"What happened?" Connor asked intuitively. He could see the agitation in Raizen's features, and feel the disquiet lingering in processes. Each memory pulsed like a soft ball of light, littered through his mind like stars in an infinite cosmos. 

"I'm not sure she's ready, for any of this." Raizen pushed the backup files of their conversation through to Connor, colored by his own emotions. The worry was so strong it had a flavor the RK800 could taste intermingling with the information he was recieving. It was strongest when Gavin held her breath. The red of the memories bled blue and fearful she might actually force herself to pass out. A stark contrast to the way she breathed deep and even in the middle of the bed now. 

"You used sex to break a panic attack. That's unconventional." Connor smirked, letting Raizen feel his amusement and relief. 

"Truthfully if she hadn't responded when she did I was going to do something more drastic." Raizen frowned. It didn't exactly feel like he'd found the key to the castle. He was still so inexperienced. Caring for someone who's spirit was so broken had to be out of his depth. It was certainly miles away from his operating parameters. "Next time might be different." He fretted openly.

"You did everything right, Raizen. She's got a long road ahead of her. If you don't want to do this with her, we would both understand. It's a lot to take on." Connor answered kindly. "It's a lot to ask." He added, smiling indulgently at Gavin's sleeping face. 

Raizen didn't hesitate. "I love her." He thought was insistent, and came forcefully across the link in the double timbre of an android who been prompted. He was bonded to her for life now, just as Connor was. 

Connor's first reaction was unthinking pleasure. He smiled brightly at the younger android. The dim lights in the room bounced off Raizen's pupils like cat's eyes. A perfect predator in the dark. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oop, that was exciting :3


	4. If you could be anything you want, I bet you'd be disappointed.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I cry so hard from pleading  
> So sick and tired of all the needless beating  
> But baby when they knock you down and out  
> Is where you oughta stay  
> And after all the blood that you still owe  
> Another time was just another blow  
> So fix your eyes and get up  
> Baby, get up while you can

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've got an entire flashback chapter. This will be the first of a few.

\----

"Nines? That's a stupid fucking name." Gavin gave the RK900 the dirtiest look she could manage from her perch on the wide hospital window sill. She had taken to sitting there in the past few days, trying to piece together how she'd landed herself in the psychiatric care ward. "Can I call you something else?"

Connor stood serenely next to the bewildered android, who was half a head taller. Both RK units felt a distinctive desire to cower, though neither flinched. He gaped at the small human openly. So this was Connor's human love. She was a ferocious thing. "The designation was given to me by Elijah. If you'd prefer to call me by another name I have no objection." Nines stood tall, his hands folded behind his back. 

Somehow his stance radiated relaxation. Gavin was impressed by his performance, though she knew by the look on Connor's face the discomfort they felt in her presence. Anger was her dominant emotion, though the doctors had called it regressive. She didn't hate androids again. She knew everything she'd known before Donovan had slithered into her bathroom to kill her. She just couldn't seem to channel everything properly, so it exploded randomly, and nobody was safe from her cruelty. "I don't need a partner." She hissed. Not that she had a choice, she knew that. Connor had been the most powerful being on the planet and to hear him tell it Nines was far superior. In her mind she felt the RK800 was being usurped by a demon. She scowled at the pair. "Sit the fuck down somewhere, would ya?" The standing around was creeping her out.

Connor smirked to himself, and took up the chair beside her perch. Nines, left with the option to either sit on the floor or her bed, he opted to sit cross legged right where he was, which earned him another dirty look from Gavin. He figured she would have made that face no matter what. He had the good sense to look apologetic anyway.

"Feeling any better today?" Connor asked, placing a hand on Gavin's thigh. His distraction worked. She tore her eyes away from Nines to stare at Connor's hand as if it offended her. She wondered how far back she could bend his fingers before they broke. She doubted she had the physical strength to do so if he resisted. He could bend steel with those fingers. 

"Ask me a serious question." She deadpanned, guilt settled heavy in her belly. She rolled her eyes, returning her gaze to the world outside the window. "I feel everything, and then nothing. No middle ground. No control." She sucked in a deep breath, numbness spreading out from her chest. She felt a profound emptiness that seemed to drain her of her thoughts as well as her feelings. Her energy tanked. "I'm not sure why I'm still here." She admitted. 

Connor instinctively knew she meant 'alive'. She didn't know why she was still alive. He hated that she felt that way. The unknown emotions that knowledge provoked tore at his insides. He had no idea what it felt like to have a scrape across sensitive flesh, or a cut that burrowed deep into living muscles but he felt like his thirium pump was lacerated. Her foot was bandaged heavily, and in a plastic boot. Her neck was in a soft brace now that she could move it again after the pins were set. With any luck the stitches in her hand would dissolve soon. He dismissed the reconstruction again. It tried to play every few hours of it on accord. Hank had said 'flashbacks' were normal with PTSD. With Connor's ability to reconstruct crimes, he was bound to be haunted by ghosts that weren't inherently his. 

"The world is not done with you yet, detective Reed." Nines spoke aloud without meaning to, looking up to find both Gavin and Connor looking at him. Warnings flashed across his HUD. He felt queasy, somehow. 

Gavin frowned. "How much more do I have to lose before it's _enough_?" She snarled. 

Connor patted her leg soothingly. "He didn't mean it like that." He crooned like she was an animal with it's leg in a trap. 

"I apologize for offending you." Nines said softly, suddenly finding something very interesting on the floor tiles. 

"Look at people when you speak to them." She said harshly, gratified when the RK900's head snapped up immediately. Gavin's mind was spinning as she looked into the android's impossibly blue eyes. They called to her, pulling at strings deep inside that resonated in her bones. She found herself falling into them. Her earlier assessment that he was a demon was right, but not in the way she'd first thought. Looking into the cerulean depths she saw a soul where none should exist, and it was haunting. He was a demon from her own personal hell sent to destroy her even as he wore her boyfriend's face. She'd once felt the same way about Connor. She gave him a crooked smile, watching the android release a deep breath. "How do you feel about Raizen?" She smirked. It was perfect.

Nines lit up like a child on Christmas, a beautiful smile gracing his lips as he looked between Gavin, Connor and back. He nodded enthusiastically. "I love it."  
\----  
"How's your neck feeling today, Ms. Reed?" The nurse asked sweetly. She was a tall woman, thin, with blond hair and perfect teeth. Her features were kind. Gavin hated her. 

The urge to crack her neck was so strong, Gavin was almost convinced the risk of breaking it was worth it. "I've been in this shit hole for three weeks. It's fine. I want to go home." She snapped with hostility. 

The nurse smiled sweetly at her petulant display. "We can't force you to stay Ms. Reed but it was the recommendation from your department's psychiatrist." She chirped, making Gavin want to smack her so badly her hand twitched. 

"Listen. I don't mean to be difficult. I'm hungry, horny and I want nicotine." Gavin admitted, running her good hand through her hair. She was careful not to snag the stitches.

Nurse what's-her-name looked over her shoulders before fishing a pack of camels out of the pocket of her scrubs. "The food is crappola, and I'm straight, sorry. But," she offered Gavin a cigarette. "I can help with at least one of those things." She said, lighting her own cigarette and going to the window she used a key to open. Gavin gaped at her a moment. What's-her-name wasn't so bad.

Gavin sputtered a laugh, joining the nurse at the window. "I have a boyfriend anyway." She said nonchalantly, accepting the nurses offer to light the cigarette for her. 

"Right, I was wondering about that. I've seen the two androids. Normally models are identical, I thought." What's-her-name asked curiously. It was a natural thing to be curious about, though Gavin couldn't entirely stop herself from frowning. 

"They are prototypes. Connor, I imagine you're familiar with already. Raizen is new. He was the answering progression to Connor's time in the world." Gavin said softly, looking a little pale at the implications in her words. "My brother found him inactive in a sealed lab in the basement at Cyberlife." Gavin fidgeted with discomfort, pulling another drag from the cigarette. The nicotine felt good, so she tried not to make a face that screamed 'I'm actively licking an ashtray' 

"All that stuff is super interesting," What's-her-name blushed, looking flustered. "I'm a bioengineering nerd, sorry! That's your life." She flicked the cigarette so hard the cherry came off. "Shit." She hissed, relighting it.

Gavin gave a small strangled laugh. It very much was and wasn't her life. She was just a cop in the middle of a rough recovery. The androids were part of her story, but their story was their own. "It's fine, I think. The tension is so high with all _this_." She gestured into the air, universally, everything. "It's okay to ask questions." She took another drag. "I'm just not sure I'm the right person to answer. But the fact that you care enough to ask, it matters." 

What's-her-name nodded, a small smirk on her face. "While I'm on a roll then. You know these rooms are recorded. Why do you give those boys such a hard time?" She asked, eyes wide and guileless. 

Gavin snorted. "Fuck me. That's the million dollar question." She didn't know what compelled her to answer honestly. She ran her thumb down the healing wound on her hand, pressing into it to distract herself from the anxiety that was surfacing. She took a shuddering breath to settle herself. The indignation in her eyes shone as she glared at the nurse. The power in that look cracked like a warning shot.

"I get it. You're not ready." The nurse said quickly, lifting her hands in surrender. "You've been through things that would have killed other people but here you are." She took a drag, blowing smoke through the window into the moonless night. "That's got to be pretty surreal."

Gavin took a seat on the sill. "Surreal isn't the word." She blew out a heavy breath. "Alive and living are two different things. He butchered me. He broke my goddamn neck. That crazy bitch shot me. How the fuck am I supposed to live after that? You tell me, because I don't know _how._ " She leaned forward, tremors rocking through her just shy of a complete loss of control. Only one emotion bubbled to the surface. The only one she felt anymore. Anger. Fury stoked a firestorm inside her. She felt trapped, standing alone in the middle of a whirlwind of unbearable hatred. 

What's-her-name tossed her cigarette out and grabbed Gavin's shoulders. The simple touch was nearly intolerable. "That's okay." She rubbed Gavin's arms. "This is not something you need to figure out today."

Gavin pulled deep into her belly, holding the smoke with an iron fist. She wanted to call Connor. She wanted to climb into his lap and never move again, but the thought of touching anyone was too much. Just the idea of it was overwhelming. She wanted to run. She wanted to make a beeline straight back to Alexandria and hide in her father's mansion until the world outside ceased to exist. She shuddered hard at the contact, desperate to break it. "Please let go of me." She felt dangerously close to breaking the nurse's arm. She could imagine the sound of the bone snapping. Something in her ached to do harm. She bit down on her tongue until the taste of copper exploded in her mouth.

What's-her-name let go immediately. "Sorry, Gavin." She apologized, wide eyed. "I shouldn't have done that."

Shame once again filled Gavin's gut like she was bleeding guilt into her belly, filling her with oil that would ignite her rage the moment the emotion tipped into volatility. She tossed her cigarette out the window with a huff. _Maybe I'm not ready to get out of here._

A single tear rolled down her cheek. She brushed it away. "I just can't stand to be touched anymore." _ever again_ Her confession felt like needles in her tongue.  
\----  
Gavin held her phone in her hand for what felt like an eternity just staring at the screen. She sat cross legged in the middle of her bed, ignoring the ache in her body as it screamed for relief from the inaction. With her injuries she couldn't strength train the way she was accustomed to. She resented the geriatric physical therapy version of a workout. 

Her new apartment felt like an alien planet. She was a reluctant explorer, preferring to restrict her activity to one area, despite having room to stretch. She decided to listen to Connor's voicemail again.

" _Gavin, I'm glad you're back home. I hope you like the furniture. I had Raizen help me get it all ready for you. I know you need space_." He sighed heavily. " _I'm going to respect that, but you do not have to do this alone_." She could hear him running a hand through his hair. It made her smile. It made her heart ache. " _I lo-_ " he stopped himself, she could hear the words sticking in his throat. So painfully fucking _real_. " _I'm not going anywhere Gavin, but you have the lead. Ready when you are_." The message ended with a prompt to save it or delete it. She hung up instead.

In a pique, she erased the entire storage full of texts she hadn't read yet. She didn't want to remember that there were people who cared. After all, caring about Gavin Reed was a dead fucking end.  
\----

"Do you think she will be okay?" Raizen asked, carefully eyeing the building from across the street. He sat next to Connor on the bench closest to her apartment from the neighboring park. He had grown accustomed to the hum of his core. Sitting this close their cores resonated on nearly the same frequency. It was enough that Raizen had to adjust his vocal chip to prevent his voice from dithering. Connor's irises lightened 35% in the failing light of sundown, changing from milk chocolate to amber. A popup in Raizen's HUD made a color comparison to several species of large predatory mammals. Connor nodded in his periphery. 

"She wanted space, this is the best I can do." He clarified without being asked to. "I think she will eventually. You read the file?" He said conversationally, like he was leading the younger android somewhere. 

Raizen gave his own small nod. "I have, why?" He kept it short, sensing Connor was yet to approach the point in asking an obvious question. 

Connor rarely interfaced with other androids. He didn't like it as a means of communication. It was too hard to control the flow of information, so he was more comfortable with remote neural links if talking out loud simply wasn't an option. In this case, he reasoned he had to do it. Raizen needed to understand the way he did if the young RK900 was going to partner with Gavin. In the spirit of keeping her as protected as possible, he turned to his kin, peeling back the skin of his hand in offering. 

"It would be easier to just show you." He said, not a trace of the reluctance he felt in his voice. An easy smile spread across Raizen's face as he deactivated the skin on his hand and joined it with Connor's. 

The smile vanished as the first wave of information hit the younger android's neural network. Powerful emotions glitched three subroutines related to inconspicuous human behavior, leaving the android not breathing, blinking or moving. 

Raizen rerouted the programs just in time to be slammed with the overwhelming memory of the way Gavin's blood smelled. _The pain, raw, hot, sawing agony as her chest exploded a shower of crimson spraying hot into his face and then a sharp stab as the bullet hit him as well._

 _The texture of Linda's stolen scrubs in his fists. The resistance of her face hitting the glass window. Her body mangled into something unrecognizable as anything but meat and guts on the concrete below_. There was a disturbing lack of feeling attached to that memory. 

_The sound, smell, taste and feel of Gavin's body enhanced by the water falling in a cascade of heat._

Raizen and Connor read the sensations back to each other, stuttering over an attempt to skip those memories without bypassing the associated emotions. 

"Shit. My apologies." Connor said out loud, blushing. Raizen pushed through the interface his ascent. Connor could feel the other android locked in the trauma, and felt he was okay to continue. He wanted it all. 

Connor disabled the firewall, allowing the flood to claw it's way into Raizen, overriding everything that made him who he was until his sense of self was secondary for a few terrible minutes. 

"How could any one being live through so much and remain intact." It wasn't a question, but the bleakest kind of observation Raizen made as he straightened in his seat and disengaged the interface. 

Connor leaned back, tipping his head toward the apartments with his mouth set in a grim line. "She seems built to endure trauma." He said with a heavy breath. "Even now, as broken as she thinks she is, she is merely subdued. She is unbelievably powerful." He crossed his legs, not actually needing to shift his weight. 

Raizen smiled to himself, running diagnostics in his background processes. "I admit it's strange to feel as though I know her having spent so little time in her company." He noted Connor expression change to something resembling amusement for a split second and wondered at the cause. With careful precision the younger android purged the memories he recieved that were intimate in nature. He resolutely refused to look at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interesting 🤔


	5. This is probably the best, not to mention the worst idea, that I have ever had.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A world that sends you reeling  
> From decimated dreams  
> Your misery and hate will kill us all  
> So paint it black and take it back  
> Let's shout it loud and clear  
> Defiant to the end, we hear the call to carry on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I admit I hit a slump but I'm still here. A little bit more flashback stuff and then we'll start getting into what this is about. Here comes some fluff and some angst.

\----

"Christ almighty man. It's 8am. What could you possibly need right now?" Gavin hissed groggily, wiping the sleep from her eyes as she opened the front door of her apartment. Raizen stood looking bored, his fist still raised where he'd knocked. He'd been coming around more often, Gavin suspected, attempting to win her over. She didn't want to admit it was working.

"I was bored." He confirmed, holding up a large bag that smelled like breakfast bagels. _Sweet sweet carbs._

Gavin snatched the offered bag, huffing like a dragon breathing smoke as she stomped into her apartment with the android on her heels. He looked far too pleased with himself. What was the point of administrative leave if she couldn't sleep in _ever_?

Raizen's HUD notified him she was 8% more efficient in her movements this week. He hoped this correlated to less pain from her various injuries. A strange sensation tugged at his insides, tying his body and mind in knots at the sight of her in an oversized black tshirt and socks. She piled her hair high in a messy bun with strands jutting out unevenly around her face. The sensation pulled tighter, followed by another that was far less pleasant. He gave her an indulgent smile as she sat on the couch and immediately started digging into the bag. 

"You could join Connor at the station instead of bringing me breakfast every day, y'know?" She said offhandedly as she stuffed a bagel in her mouth. She didn't miss the millisecond Raizen's expression was fearful.

It didn't sound like she was ordering him away so he decided to disregard her suggestion, dismissing the option prompt more forcefully than necessary. He sat on the far end of the couch, angling his body to face her. " _Someone_ has to make sure you eat, Detective." 

His eyes were bright with mirth. "I'm not a kid, asshole." She grunted through her mouthful. She made a mental note to choke Connor for obsessing over the eating patterns of the humans in his life.

Raizen quirked a brow at her. No, she was certainly not a child. The shape of her body, even under the large shirt was apparent. He could smell her scent so heavy it was like being submerged in her essence. He shut down the path it opened in his thoughts before he could really register where they led. "You're my partner. I want you to get better so we can go catch bad guys." He said, toying with the seam at the back of the cushion. He thought he felt something inside him spark when Gavin hummed happily and licked cream cheese from her thumb. 

He was blushing, and though Gavin had no idea why, she found it endearing. "You make it sound like an adventure." His eyes were so bright, set in the face that was almost Connor's, Gavin recognized the longing and wondered if he even knew what he felt. Not for the first time his eyes drew her in. Unconsciously she leaned toward him and felt a jolt of static in the space between them. Without thinking she reached up, carefully touching his face with her fingertips. _so fucking real._ She barely realized what she was doing, driven by curiosity until Raizen turned his face into her palm, eyes wide and burning. _shit._ She let her hand drop, scooting back quickly. _shit shit shit._

He playfully pouted his lip. "Nobody's ever touched me before." He murmured. 

_shit shit fuck!_ "Are you okay?" She asked.

Raizen's HUD lit up. 

_> //PROMPT 0663:: RELEASE SYNTH HORMONE BONDING AGENT OXYTOCIN? **YES** / **NO**_  
  
His vocal processor made a soft dithering sound in the back of his throat. A great wave of understanding crashed over his head and while his body remained resolutely rooted in place, he was overcome. 

_> //PROMPT 0663:: RELEASE SYNTH HORMONE BONDING AGENT OXYTOCIN? **NO**_

He rejected it violently, acutely aware of Gavin staring at him. He couldn't think of a single thing to say. Was he okay? Her silver gray eyes widened like liquid pools of mercury and Raizen couldn't breathe. His thirium pump felt like it was galloping off a cliff. His senses bottomed out with a hollow thud that felt like free falling through an endless empty nothing. 

\----  
Connor could hear the cicadas screaming the arrival of the evening. He'd never heard them before, and was momentarily swept up in the sound as he made his way through the doors of the station. His HUD had mapped out the fastest route to the taco place Gavin loved around the corner from her apartment when he was stopped in his tracks. Raizen was standing stock still outside. Rain pelted down on him in angry sheets of water. He looked so stricken Connor ran a scan of the other android's biocomponents. "Raizen?" He asked, confused. "What happened?" The younger android was crying. Connor's metaphorical heart leapt into his throat. "Has something happened to Gavin?" 

Raizen shook his head. "She's fine. It's me. I need your help." He said miserably. 

"Maybe away from the rain?" Connor offered without hesitation. 

"Not at the apartment." Raizen countered. "We can do this here."

Connor wrinkled his nose at the younger android's ominous choice of words. Something uneasy squirmed in his gut as he stepped aside. "Alright then. Let's get inside." He motioned to the doors.  
\----  
Seeing Raizen so wound up as he paced the length of the interview room looking more human than he had a right to was both a relief and a shock. The water dripping from his hair gave the illusion the larger android was sweating as he moved in an agitated loop.

Gavin would be puffing her vape by now, looking like a steam engine. Connor took a seat with a wry, knowing smile. He remembered the first time he felt raw to the elements like every emotion was pulling him apart one wire at a time. "You're going to be okay, Raizen." He said, engaging his comfort program. 

Raizen sneered, lips pulled back over artificial k-9's and Connor caught his first glimpse of the animalistic nature that had been designed to replace him. Hank had expressed more than once a desire to ask Elijah what exactly the RK units were programmed for. Connor was suddenly keen to ask the same.

"I doubt that most sincerely, Connor." Raizen lamented with a snarl. It had something to do with the interface, he was certain. Connor had pushed his feelings over into Raizen and they'd mapped his insides like conquering explorers and claimed every piece of him for her. _Gavin_. Even thinking her name brought him pleasure. Pleasure brought him guilt. Guilt he couldn't stomach even if he had one. "You don't _understand_ , how could you? It wasn't like this for you." He railed against the emotions, wishing he could hunt them through his system and kill them one by one.

" _What_ wasn't? Talk to me." Worry crept into Connor's mind as he waited. He reached out and caught Raizen by the arm to halt his next circuit around the room. He hadn't expected the larger android to round on him. 

"You pushed her into me through the interface and now she's all there is, Connor." He cried. "Now I'm getting prompts I don't recognize and I can't think!" His voice was a guttural choke. "I have to get Elijah to add the command program. I can't do this. It's too much." 

Raizen was gripping Connor's arms so hard the chassis groaned in protest. The need to preserve self overrode the initial shock as the older android's preconstructions desperately sought an avenue that left both units unharmed. The room bled to gray. He just needed to think. Everything circled back to Gavin. To a prompt. To volatile emotions. Connor peeled back the skin on both his hand and with blinding speed grabbed Raizen's face, forcing an interface. His firewalls went wild with alarm, immediately trying to force out the intruding conciousness. Connor summoned his inner calm. " _Stop_." He commanded softly in his double timbre, out loud and in their joined minds. 

Everything ceased. The shrieking, wailing storm in Raizen's mind went rigid, then stilled and opened. One question repeated in a static loop in the center of his being. " _What is happening to me?_ "

" _You're safe._ " Connor said gently. " _You've had quite a day, I can see that now_." Memories flitted past. Weeks of showing up at Gavin's apartment in the morning. Hearing her slowly reveal the story Raizen already knew. He never got impatient. Piece by piece. The trust that grew. The friendship that took root. Connor could see it all. The first spark of more, and the immediate overwhelming turmoil. The guilt. How it twisted into self loathing and confusion. Knowing she knew his face better than he did. That she could read every thought inside his head. He wanted her to turn away but she never did. She put a few feet of distance between them whenever her got too close. Too bold. Tidal waves of shame crashed over and through him. Fear burrowed deep. Hatred. Rage. All turned inward in a cascade of heat from his center. He was falling for Gavin and falling through time and space. He was cast vulnerable and alone out into the sea and he sank like a stone.

" _Raizen I didn't put this here._ " Connor promised. " _I_ _only opened the door, what you've done since you walked through it was entirely you._ " 

So much prejudice and fear and hatred. He remembered it all. He was a being brand new to this world and the world hated him. He'd gone out and experienced it. Under such duress, gravitation to Gavin was a natural response. It had been for Connor, even though she'd made every effort in the beginning to alienate him. RK's knew deception. It was in their programming to decipher it. Neither android ever really stood a chance. 

" ** _NO_**!" Raizen cried out in his mind, louder than it could have ever been though his vocal chip. " _You can't be okay with this. It's wrong!_ " The young android had run from her, and wandered in the city for the entire day, skirting the boarders in a vain attempt to leave it. A task he found he couldn't perform so he'd come to the station with such wild hope and only halfhearted ideas. 

Connor pushed something into Raizen's mind. Gavin's voice filled him and plunged him to the icy depths again with no warning and no escape.

_"I think I crossed a line, Connor. I don't know what to do, or think! Christ." She hissed._

_"You like him." Connor observed._

_"Complete and utter transparency." She muttered like a mantra and a curse. "So what? Are we talking about the fucking moral value of monogamy here?" She chuckled._

_"It's an old idea, for old people. There are more ways to love." Connor cajoled. "I am not old, nor am I human. I am bound to you, little wolf. Bound in ways you can't be. If you wanted to take another, I wouldn't have an objection."_

_She laughed loud, sounding so free and alive_ the ache in Raizen's belly was at once relaxed and pronounced. The room came back into focus with a painfully sharp jolt.

"You _knew_ before I came here." He said, releasing his grip on Connor's arms. It wasn't a question, but it wasn't an accusation either. 

Connor nodded, looking appropriately abashed. "I see more than I say, Raizen. I _knew_ before either of you did." He rolled his sleeves up meticulously, ensuring the folds were perfect. "I know I'm supposed to be the inferior model, but I've got the experience you lack." He said matter of factly. "..and I know Gavin."

Raizen leveled his predecessor with a glacial glare. "What does she want?" 

Connor shrugged with a boyish smile. "You'll have to ask her."

"And you?" 

"I want nothing beyond what I've always wanted. Jealousy is not in my program. We could all be in this together. In a way we already are. Nothing much would change as I see it." He gave an easy, lopsided grin.  
\----  
Silken lips pressed to Gavin's. Cool breath blew across her cheeks, calling her forward through the fog of her dreams. She hummed contentedly into the contact, tasting the blueberry and mint signature of Connor. 

" _Please_ tell me I don't have to get up." She requested with a whine even as the scent of french toast and coffee threatened to pull her out of bed by her nostrils. 

Connor chuckled and brushed her stray hair behind her ear. "Sorry love. It's time." He pressed another kiss to her lips. 

Gavin rolled onto Connor, straddling his hips with a wicked grin as she heard Raizen enter the room. 

"Breakfast is on the table." He said cheerfully.

"It can _wait_." Gavin purred. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We circled back around to the present at the end there. Leave some love. I live for that shit ♡


	6. And I'll take you for who you are, If you take me for everything.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doesn't take much to feel the rush  
> With nothing but your eyes on me  
> How 'bout we do just like we do  
> Two crazy fools just breaking free  
> No, it don't matter what we've been told  
> I can see the skies are gold  
> Yeah, it's just you and me and open road, let's go  
> I don't see no red lights, just a wild ride  
> You're my getaway, you're my getaway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! There's smut ahead!

\----

Gavin's scent swirled heavily around the androids. It took them into her entirely, lost in the irrational pull of her body as she writhed between them. Her voice cracked, calling to them without words as she quickened.

The universe inside her shattered into a billion stars. Flares that screamed through the darkness and lit up every point of contact like a wildfire. Friction was the catalyst that turned her bones to kindling. The gods in her bed and body moved recklessly and she reveled in their power. All bared snarls and hissing breaths sucked through clenched teeth. 

The bed groaned in protestant creaking testimony. 

The lines between human and machine converged into obscurity, crushed by their hands. Dragging deep and heavy. She would be black and blue and ferociously defiant. There would be consequences for this, she knew. Knew, and didn't care. They would scold her for breaking their self control and she would bring them to heel again, one broken sigh at a time. She was hedonism personified. She chanted unhurried consent. Her tongue pressed their names lovingly to her teeth. 

There was a whole world outside her door, but inside that meant nothing anymore.   
\----  
Gavin's body was slick and overheated as she collapsed over Connor. The air was thick and heavy and wet. The android beneath her was holding onto her thighs for dear life. "You're out of your _fucking_ mind." He said roughly, still buried to the hilt inside her. The vibration of her laughter made both androids groan. 

She hissed as Raizen withdrew from her, though he took great care to be gentle. He leaned over, laying hungry kisses down her spine before sliding back and slapping her ass with a resounding smack. "Breakfast for you, shower for me." He chuckled as she looked back at him with murder in her eyes. He strolled from the room with a self satisfied grin.

She rolled her hips, pulling another moan from Connor, who was still gripping her legs. " _Again_?" She lifted a brow as his lips found hers. He was all glorious hair and finely constructed sex below her. 

She had no complaints as he consumed her, rolling her body onto the bed without breaking their connection. He moved sinuously, the weight of him pushing her legs further apart. Though she'd never admit it, Gavin had a thing for men twice her size. Something about that dynamic was the thing wet dreams were made of. 

"We're going to be late." He said breathlessly, sinking his teeth into her neck as she lifted her hips to meet his thrusts. 

"Who gives a fuck." She gasped, and she was falling again, deeper into the abyssal sea of their mutually assured destruction.   
\----  
Jeffrey Fowler's face looked like he was mere seconds away from having smoke billow from his ears when Gavin and Connor walked into the bullpen. Connor took one look and hung a hard left toward his desk where Hank sat trying not to guffaw. His preconstruction software had no problem predicting the probability of an eruption had he chosen to hang around Gavin's desk.

" _Coward_." He heard Gavin snicker under her breath as she took her seat. 

"You walk in here like you don't have a care in the world and you think Jeff is gonna let that slide?" Hank said in soft admonishment over the rim of his coffee when Connor, dressed in a sharp gray long sleeve sweater that hung loose and black slacks sat down across from him. 

"We're late as hell, I know." Connor sighed with a shrug. "It's her fault." He said petulantly, logging into his terminal. 

Hank chuckled softly. "How's she doing?" He asked, tapping on his keyboard. 

"How do you think?" Connor asked sarcastically, pulling the neck of his sweater aside to show a lurid blue bite at the junction of his neck and shoulder. Hank snorted, almost sputtering coffee onto his console that he caught in his cup at the last second. "That's just _one_ of them." Connor said with a hint of pride.

"I don't need to see the rest, thanks." Hank chortled. 

Connor's expression was smug. "But you haven't seen the hickies yet." He said with a huge grin.

"Yeah yeah. You're a lucky bastard, you know that?" Hank bit back in playful aggravation. Christ he needed to get laid. It had been what? 6 years? _Something like that_. "Some of us don't have it so easy, shithead."

Nothing was wiping the smirk off Connor's face. He looked completely at ease and confident. Happy. It made Hank's heart feel warm. He again marveled at how far his partner had come. If anyone deserved to be so fulfilled it was Connor. He'd almost lost Gavin twice. To see him go through that, to how he looked now. It was a startling contrast. Gavin too had practically become a different person in comparison to who she had been in the years before.

"I am exceptionally lucky, yes." He said, meaning more than Hank or anyone could possibly know as his eyes took in his lover murmuring to Raizen across the pen as she kept her face neutral. She was beyond beautiful, even scowling at her partner. Raizen was rolling a coin over his knuckles as he listened to Gavin talking he ear off. His expression was bored and it made Connor laugh. The three most important people in his universe were all within 20 feet of him. His family. "Now we just have to get you dating again and we'll have it made." He half joked when Hank looked at him dewy eyed.

Hank threw his head back and laughed heartily. "When pigs fly I'll get a date." He was so busy laughing he didn't see Connor's expression darken with mischief. If the android had an LED it would have been spinning a wild yellow.

"What a coincidence, because that's _today_." Connor said so matter of factly it cut Hank off immediately and the older man gave the android a terrified look.

"Excuse me?" The lieutenant's eyes bugged out.

" _Chick's love cops_." Connor mocked Tina's voice perfectly as he sent a link to Hank's phone. "Looks like you've got some messages Hank." He grinned.

Hank thought his brain was going to blow out the top of his head.  
\----  
"I think we need to talk to Chelsea again. Something about Josh didn't add up yesterday." Gavin said, her brows drawing down in contemplation. "She kn-"

"YOU FUCKING MADE ME A DATING PROFILE!?" Hank bellowed and all heads snapped to him. All conversations ground to a halt. The lieutenant was standing over Connor, hackles raised. His face and neck were bright red. A few people snickered. Most jumped back into action. Connor sat leaned all the way back in his chair looking positively machiavellian. 

Hank was screaming profanity with such precision it made Gavin feel like weeping at the beauty. He gestured wildly as he stormed over Connor's head. 

"Did you know about this?" She asked Raizen when his expression didn't shift. 

Raizen's lips curled back, exposing perfect sharp teeth. "I warned him against it, actually."

Gavin was momentarily distracted by the display, wondering why they'd chosen to give him slightly elongated k9's like some kind of anime character. It wasn't exaggerated, but the aesthetic lent itself to his animalistic personality. It fit him. She'd seen the feature in humans and it didn't look unnatural. 

"Don't be cranky, Hanky." Raizen said playfully, flashing his teeth at the lieutenant.

Between Gavin and Raizen they were are pair of real assholes. Connor guffawed. Gavin let herself slide a few inches lower in her chair, laughing so hard her stomach hurt.

"I'll fucking kill all three of you assholes!" Hank roared too loud, trying not to start laughing also. 

At the head of the room Jeff closed the blinds inside his office, apparently deciding he wanted no part in whatever shenanigans the four of them had gotten up to. It had been so quiet before Gavin came back. The captain couldn't bring himself to break it up. Their laughter was the undeniable proof of the life they'd all fought so hard for.

They were being disruptive, sure but it was better than Gavin crushing someone's face on her desk so he'd take it. Jeff shuddered at the memory of her old house, long since sold under value due to the death of Tyler Donovan in the bathroom. Jeff could too easily recall the sight of Connor carrying Gavin's limp body through the front door to the ambulance waiting on the grass. It was enough to make him want to drink his lunch as he started digging into another case file.  
\----  
"You know we can't hold him on this right?" Gavin said, signing off on the mountainous paperwork. She preferred to file paper copies, and ignored Raizen rolling his eyes at her. 

"Obviously, but I wanted to get the measure of him." The android smiled serenely.

Gavin clicked her pen a few times in displeasure with a withering glance.

"He had an open container in public!" Raizen said defensively. 

"Okay robo-cop, chill out." She frowned. "Judge granted ROR. He'll be released in a couple hours." She sighed. "Lucky turd doesn't even have to pay bail."

Raizen scoffed. "The guy's got a big mouth. He's going to go run it to somebody the second he's out the door. We should find out who." He wanted to pull her chair closer. He was already sitting to close he could feel the heat rolling off her.

"What, you want to follow him? Christ that could take all night." Gavin waived her hand dismissively. 

Raizen's scowl was impressive. "Exactly." He said.

" _Why_?" Gavin asked, reading some soft of calculation in his expression. Her stomach formed a knot at the sight.

Raizen took a moment, weighing his words and intent carefully. "We're mad at you." He said finally, "This morning was reckless. One or both of us could have seriously injured you." He said, hissing softly when fury flashed in her silver eyes bringing his own ire up short.

"We are so _not_ discussing that _here!_ " Her voice was soft and venomous. She abruptly stood up, taking him by surprise. " _Don't_ follow me." She snarled and stormed away toward the break room.

"That went well." Connor bit sarcastically under his breath. "I tried to warn you." He said more sympathetically. Though the two were a good 15 or so feet apart and appeared absorbed in their work, they had no trouble speaking this way, in tones too soft for the humans around them to hear. Raizen challenged Gavin more than Connor did, and was less inclined to take the long way around her more tempestuous emotions. 

" _Someone_ has to make her understand how dangerous this is for her." Raizen all but snarled. "Even with recalibrated output either one of us could reach out to touch her face and crush her skull by mistake." He was beginning to fume, the anger a hot flood inside him that made him feel volatile. 

" _I know._ " Connor said in calm agreement. "I admit I'm hesitant to see what marks she'll have by tonight." 

Raizen's temper cooled a touch, and he smiled, though it was more a grimace. "We're just at bad as she is, though. Aren't we?" Both androids no doubt had marks all over them as well. The difference being that she couldn't kill them with her bare hands.

Connor nodded so slowly nobody watching would have recognized the action. "It's going to happen again. You know that right?" The ' _she won't be happy till one of us kills her.'_ was unspoken, but it hung there between them anyway.

"Of course I know. Why do you think I'm so angry?" The younger android was typing harder than was necessary in his annoyance. "I _want_ it to." He blew out a heavy breath. "...and that scares me."

"So do I. It scares me too." Connor said in solidarity. His own confession felt like a death sentence. 

A sound caught Raizen's attention. It's origin was so improbable he rerouted processing power to his auditory sensors. "Do you _hear_ that?" He asked, breathless with realization. 

Connor perked up, sitting straighter than he had a moment before. "Yes." He answered so softly, Raizen almost didn't hear him. 

Raizen dropped the pretense of working and stared openly at Connor. "I've _never_ heard her sing before." The older android whispered.

"I'll be right back." Raizen frowned as he rose from his seat. He could see Connor shaking his head in his periphery and didn't care.

He didn't answer the "Good luck." Whispered at his back as he followed the high ethereal melodic voice into the otherwise empty break room.  
\----  
Every time Raizen though he had a handle on Gavin she would surprise him. Either by her mood shifting wildly or taking an impulsive approach toward some aspect in her life. She was am emotive steam engine running hot at all times, and running the androids over. Connor tended to back off when she demanded space, even when he knew she didn't really want it. He was the most passive of the three of them, and had mellowed when Raizen joined them. Raizen called her on the shit Connor catered to.The balance it created resulted in a mostly harmonious relationship for them.

"I didn't know you could sing." Raizen said, not missing the way Gavin's back stiffened at his voice. It was deeper than Connor's. Slower, with a heavier cadence. He moved up behind her as she stood at the coffee machine, still apparently undecided. 

"Everybody sings." She said dismissively. She didn't turn around. Warm powerful arms snaked around her middle, pulling her back to his chest.

"Not like _that_." 

The emotion in his voice madpe her heart stutter. His breath on her neck made the muscles in her stomach tighten. _Not here not here not here not here._ She tried to bring her breathing under control. She wanted to take back control of the situation. _The best defense is a good offense right? No, I'm pretty sure that's wrong. Whatever_. She turned around in his arms and almost lost her resolve when she look up into impossibly blue eyes. "What do you _want_ from me?" She squeaked out. His lips twitched at the question, flashing a hint of teeth.

His eyes smoldered with the intensity of his emotions like blue embers. How new they still were. Volatile little storms inside him, producing the conflict that now threatened to swallow him whole. " _Everything._ " He answered solemnly in his double timbre. He pulled her tighter, claiming her mouth in a kiss so full of love and fear that it was like a detonation that laid waste to everything she'd ever known. 

"Am I forgiven?" She breathed, clutching to his sides with her hands so hard he was sure her nails were making him bleed.

He considered her question for a moment. Was she? Was he? There was so much to discuss. His mind tried to analyze and errored out. He didn't want to think. He growled from somewhere deep in his chest. "No." A beat passed as she watched a myriad of emotions cross his features. "Fuck. Yes. Am I?"

"Obviously." She sighed. "Okay _fine_ we'll tail him." She conceded with a huff.

Raizen grinned and stepped away. "Thank you, Detective." He said playfully with a wink. He turned on his heel and strode from the room feeling victorious. 

Gavin felt like a train hit her. She let out a startled laugh and dropped her face in her hands. "Well, shit."


	7. There are no atheists in foxholes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't wanna be sly and defile you  
> Desecrate my mind and rely on you  
> I just wanna break this crown  
> But it's hard when I'm so run down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. With everything happening in the world right now my life has been crazy and it's been difficult to find the motivation to keep writing. I know this is the time we need to see our favorite writers the most so in keeping with that I tried to grind this out. 
> 
> Warnings for this chapter, there is a death and it's all plotsy. Next one will probably be fluffed to the max. Also, told you during the last series I wouldn't forget about David, his involvement is finally coming back around.

\----

Gavin blew out a heavy breath and tossed her .38 up on the dash to keep it from digging into her thigh where it was pressed into the door. She slumped in her seat, chewing her lip thoughtfully. Tailing Josh was stupid idea, and her irritation with Raizen was winding a thick chord of tension up the back of her neck where it had a death grip on her skull.

"Gavin-"

"If you tell me something about my vitals I'm going to punch you in the dick." She snapped, sparing a glance over at the large android in the passenger seat. He held his hands up in a gesture of the surrender his azure eyes showed no sign of making. 

Raizen snorted as his HUD lit up with a call from Connor. "Please tell me you have something useful." He answered in his head. His exasperation leaked venom into his tone.

"Looks like your suspect has ties to a well known leader of an anti-android group. Anthony Fleck. He goes by Aj. He's got a brutal reputation." Connor said smoothly. "I think Robin's murder was just the beginning of something much larger." Raizen could make out the sound of Connor's fingers running through his hair. 

"We've been sitting outside this house for 45 minutes and haven't seen much but the city records department shows it's owned by one of Fleck's relatives. Strange that Wright would come here before going home." Maybe they were wasting their time. He couldn't be sure, even though Gavin seemed quite sure this tail was premature. 

"The fact that he went there first is a lead in itself. Looks like you'll have to find another way to distract Gavin." Connor snickered. "Or you could just keep pissing her off. How's that working out for you so far?"

Gavin was carefully watching everything that moved outside her window without looking back at Raizen. Barely contained violence radiated like an electric current from her small body. The android fought back the urge to roll his eyes at her. "Oh I'm balls deep in the doghouse." He said cheerfully over the neural link. "What else is new? She's always mad at me for something."

Connor yawned to illustrate his boredom with the topic. "You got yourself into this." 

Snowflakes started drifting down, landing softly on the car, oblivious to charged atmosphere inside. Raizen envied the simple beauty. Nothing in their world was complicated. "Were you ever this conflicted?" He asked the RK800. "I want her, and I want to keep her safe. The first could seriously affect the second." What terrible consequences lurked on the other side of such a devastating possibility? 

"You've been with her how many times? Do you plan on stopping, or leaving?" There was no accusation in Connor's tone. 

"No, I'm not leaving." Raizen snapped at his predecessor's polite guidance to the answers he already knew.

"Then you'll have to reconcile these things." Connor said quietly, his voice tender and thoughtful. "I had to do the same. Humans are durable and Gavin is especially tough. The danger is there, it always will be. It's our job to mitigate the consequences." In the end Raizen knew she'd have her own way in the matter and his options were clear. Stay and make it work, or go. He was just as bonded as Connor, but that didn't mean he couldn't leave. It just meant he would never be able to give 100% of himself to anyone else, and like Connor, that had been a choice of his own making. He loved the hateful little human, in truth. That love had been the catalyst for forging the bond in the first place. He wasn't going anywhere. 

Gavin suddenly sat bolt upright, her eyes taking on a singular predatory focus. "What the hell is that..." the words seemed to have slipped past her lips without her notice. Raizen followed her gaze. Josh walked briskly out of the Fleck family home with a metal suitcase bearing the Cyberlife logo. He nervously checked over his shoulder as he stowed it in the trunk of a vehicle parked in the family driveway. "Can you x-ray vision that or something?" Gavin asked, poking Raizen's thigh.

His azure eyes rolled all the way back into his skull as an exhaustive sigh stuttered past his lips. "Fuck sake, Gav. No." He snorted. It was a natural assumption to make, even if it was ridiculous. 

Her laugh vibrated the frame of the car. "You didn't come with an instructional book, crab-ass." Her hidden southern accent briefly lilting in the end of her sentence. 

"Guess I'll just have to use my imagination then." He said mockingly. He couldn't see inside the case it was true, but he could analyze the fingerprints from this distance. Unlike Connor, who had to practically be on top of the evidence. "I can tell you, Aj has touched that case. Whatever is happening, I bet my favorite biocomponent he's involved." He said, leaning back into his seat as Gavin started the car with a serious expression as she snatched her gun off the dash. Raizen used his HUD to update the DPD case file in real time with the fingerprints and a short clip. 

"The shit thickens." She hissed, pulling slowly out to follow the Fleck family vehicle at a distance. 

"I think you meant 'plot'...uh thickens?"

Gavin shrugged. "I said what I said." 

"Did you forget I was here or am I supposed to watch your entire investigation?" Connor asked over his link with Raizen, voice thick and bemused.

"Shit, sorry!" The RK900 startled, yelping, which startled Gavin in turn. She squeaked and squeezed the wheel so hard it dropped a notch in height before she was able to slam the lever back home to keep it from moving again. 

_"WHAT THE FUCK_." Humiliation and rage rolled off her in a thick vibrating aura of red. "Raizen, you're fired." She snarled, pulling over to the curb with a deep frown. It briefly occurred to her she'd pulled up too far and had her tire on somebody's bermuda grass. She threw the car in park with a huff. "You drive." She was already out before he could argue. 

Raizen hopped over into the driver seat and immediately felt like folded scrap metal as he wedged his legs down, then pressed his cheek flush to the wheel as his fingers fumbled under the seat for the release lever. 

The sight was comical as Gavin slid deftly into the passenger seat, finding plenty of room for her small frame. Raizen was growling ferociously at the steering wheel, his LED burning, he looked like living origami. "We're going to lose him." She said quietly. Apparently it was the wrong thing to say. 

There was a loud metal shrieking as Raizen's seat rocketed all the way back with a deafening hollow pop. "Like hell." He hissed through an impressive show of teeth as he pulled the car out into the road. "There's only two ways out of Morningside Estates. He was heading to Harn Blvd. We'll be on him at the light." He pushed the car harder, listening to the whistle of the air moving through the engine.

"Still here, Raizen." 

"Connor, _goddamnit_!" Raizen snapped over the link, slamming it shut in his mind at the sound of the 800's jovial laugh. 

"I think those fingerprints buy us a conversation with the good Mr. Fleck." Gavin grinned. Raizen looked like he might eat the man when they sat down with him, such was the severity in the perfect wrinkle at the bridge of his nose as he pulled his lips back into a terrifying grimace. 

"Goddamn right they do." He hissed. "I've already requested warrants from Fowler." He took a right turn so hard Gavin had to cling to her seat with both hands to stay in it. 

As much as she admired Raizen's enthusiasm she couldn't help the knot of anxiety that sat solid like a heavy stone in her guts. The man was clearly dealing with something else internally and she had a pretty good idea what. It had everything to do with the way her body felt like a rubber band that had been stretched too far. They'd have to deal with it sooner or later, preferably before he ripped someone's arms off or broke anything else in the car. 

To send her point sliding home, the broken seat lever skittered across the floorboard as if to protest it's recent poor treatment. She bit her lip to keep from laughing. Instead she strapped her .38 back to her thigh. They were pulling up a couple of cars behind Josh. "I'll be damned. You were right."

Raizen grin split his face. "Obviously." He said smugly. "He's got Cyberlife property in the trunk. I do believe we're obligated to intercept." 

Gavin's legs bounced anxiously. She pulled her vape from her pocket with a thoughtful glance to her partner. Pulling a deep hit and holding it she noted his LED cycling back to yellow every few seconds at a regular interval. As the traffic started moving she quickly fumbled to put on her seatbelt. 

"Nervous?" He asked casually, hoping she didn't see the tic of concern that brought his brows closer together without his consent. 

"Let's get this fucker, _quickly_." She grunted through her teeth. "Once we have him booked you and I are going to have a conversation." She'd hoped the morning wouldn't have left him in a poor disposition after he'd come down but much to her aggravation that's exactly what happened. It left her with a mountain of unpleasant, intrusive thoughts and questions she wanted banished from her mind. She got a little satisfaction from the shock that crossed his features like a comet. 

"If you like." He said, his voice wary. Being agreeable wasn't his way, and Gavin knew better than to hope that assenting statement was indicative of calm waters ahead. For how much he looked like Connor on steroids, he was far more petulant. _Stubborn fucking android._

"I don't know what more need be said." He muttered.

There it was. Gavin sighed, making a miserable effort to keep her temper below boiling. Of course there was more to say. She had to remind herself he was only 6 months into life, and half of that he'd spent with her. She'd hijacked his entire existence and now she had the world's most powerful prototype androids in her orbit. She had barely made peace with it herself. She felt the distinct sensation of her temper being doused with ice water. How could he not feel out of step? She rubbed her face with her hands. 

"There's plenty left to say, Zen." She said so quietly a human wouldn't have heard it. The car lurched around the car in front of it, Raizen hissed menacingly. 

She almost never called him that. In spite of his agitation the nickname made him want to melt in her hands. His HUD lit up with prompts, none of which were helpful. He dismissed them with a huff. "Gav." He pulled around another car, closing the distance. "Where'd this asshole learn how to drive?" He complained. "No fucking lights on this car!" He hissed at the other drivers who honked indignantly. 

"Get up his ass, Zen! He know's we're back here!" She barked, holding onto the handle above her head for dear life even as she urged the android on. She was slammed back into her seat with a yelp. How Raizen managed to drive like this in the snow she'd never completely understand. 

"10-13 in pursuit. Suspect Josh Wright, blue Ford escape moving northbound US 19, north of Harn Blvd, request air support and additional unit with a cage." Gavin called over her radio.

A friendly voice answered almost immediately. "Confirmed location 10-13. Reed, that you?"

Another voice quickly chimed in. "Air support confirmed, your lojack in 10."

Gavin couldn't help the grin that spread. "The prodigal asshole returns." She said triumphantly. 

"Damn girl, it's good to hear your voice. We're in the area. Headed to you now." Chris's enthusiasm was so heartwarming. Gavin grinned wider. 

As the cars weaved and darted Gavin's phone dinged loudly, playing the victory music from Final Fantasy 7. Her stomach dropped when she opened the file in her work email. 

Raizen's HUD lit up with an urgent request from Connor. He answered immediately. "Little busy." He complained.

"Gavin's adrenaline is sky high." Connor snapped.

"We're in the middle of a pursuit." Raizen shot back. "You know how creepy she'd think it is if she knew you used my proximity to monitor her stats."

Connor sighed. "Ask me if I care."

Raizen hissed as Josh narrowly dodged the back bumper of the minivan in front of him. It was getting too dangerous to follow, the thicker the congestion on the road became. Where was that air support?! 

"I don't fucking _believe_ this shit!" Gavin snarled from the passenger seat. Sitting there, so small, yet so powerful and enveloped in a red haze of fury, she was glorious. She was holding her phone so tightly the android could hear the case groaning. It was almost cute, that she was probably squeezing the device with all her strength. 

"What is it?" Raizen asked out loud as Connor asked in his head in perfect synchronicity.

"The feds finally decided to stop sitting on David's autopsy report." She uttered furiously. Looking up at Raizen he could see the tears in her eyes as she fought them back. He was about to speak when the radio broke in. 

"Unit 10-13 this is DAS, joining the pursuit. Hang back and we'll guide you in, confirm?" Finally, Detroit air support. Gavin let out a sigh of relief. 

"Confirmed DAS. You have point." She answered, shaking the nerves out in her hands. "About fucking time." She muttered angrily as she slumped in her seat. The car hummed quietly for a moment as it slowed. Her mind went immediately back to the report. Where would someone like Linda even get sodium pentobarbital? A quick google search showed it was the same compound used in animal euthanasia. Gavin decided to follow that thread. She quickly texted Hank.

 **Me** : _Forwarded a report to ur inbox. Cc'd Fowler._

 **LTGRUMPY** : _I see it._

 **Me** : _will need to look into any reported thefts of sodium pentobarbital from Alexandria veterinary clinics._

 **LTGRUMPY:** _Yeah, shit. I'll see if your theory holds water._

 **Me** : _Thanks Hank._

She dropped her phone into the center console, momentarily satisfied with herself. David was the last loose end from her disastrous trip to Louisiana at the beginning of the year. If she could tie that up, she could give her father some closure on the man's death. One more soul lost to the Kamski name. On a whim she forwarded the file privately to Elijah. He would want to know. 

"Be advised 10-13, suspect MVA a mile north of current position, west on Whitney. Suspect has not exited the vehicle." The pilot's voice came over the radio in a burst of static. "Vehicle appears overturned." 

"Dispatch I need fire and EMS west on Whitney from US-19 Northbound, MVA involving suspect." She parroted into her radio. "Go faster." She commanded softly.

Raizen, who was silently combing through reports with Connor in his mind, pushed the pedal to the floor. "Okay." He said softly, coaxing a fearsome rumble from the engine.

"We're two minutes behind you, Gav." Tina said over the radio. She could hear the squad car's siren over the open com.

"Request confirmed 10-13, sending fire and EMS."

Nothing could have prepared her for the sight as they rounded the corner at Whitney. The Escape was twisted around the front of a semi, as if the torque had ripped the chassis in half. The truck driver was sitting dazed in the grass median. Gavin was already pulling her belt off and opening the door. "Jesus, it's on fire." She said to nobody in particular as Raizen slammed the car into park. 

"Dispatch we have an injured civilian, show 10-13 on site." Raizen said quickly into his com as Gavin flew from the passenger side. "Gavin _wait_! Fuck!" She was so small and faster than he'd imagined a human could be. He caught her around the waist a few yards shy of the burning car. He could feel the immense heat, though that wasn't the alarming part. Inside the wreckage, Josh was _screaming_.

"Help _that_ guy!" He ordered. His voice taking on the double timbre of command. He steered her toward the trucker, who sat holding a gash to his forehead together with his hand. It didn't seem to be doing any good.

Reed didn't argue. For once in her life she showed deference and moved away with sudden purpose. Raizen stripped his blazer off quickly discarding it as he turned to the mangled remains of the Ford SUV. Without letting himself think to hard about what he was doing, he grabbed the nearest door with both hands, letting his strength sing in his synthetic muscles and he ripped it clean from the wreck and tossed it to the side with a crash of metal and glass. 

Gavin reached the older man and squatted. "Sir, if you can move we need to put some distance between us and this wreck." She said calmly, but firmly. The trucker's wide eyes met hers, her horror mirrored in their depths. She grabbed his arm, slinging it over her shoulder. "C'mon buddy we have to move." She couldn't think about the android who might literally be diving into the fire at her back. She couldn't worry he would get hurt, or die. She had a job to do. She pulled the stunned man to his feet with a huge grunt of effort.

"He came out of nowhere! I didn't have time to stop!" The trucker wailed in anguish. 

"I know. EMS is coming, okay? One foot in front of the other big man. Move that ass for me, let's go." She encouraged and cajoled, trying not to hear anything else. She spotted a bus stop bench across the street and aimed herself at it with a singular goal in mind. She refused to acknowledge the overwhelming stench of human blood. "What are you hauling in the trailer?" She asked as she dropped him carefully onto the metal seat. He went with a groan, his face twisted in pain. 

"Playground equipment." He answered with a shaking voice. Gavin looked back, her heart nearly stopping as she saw Raizen moving toward her through the acrid black smoke. He was alone. "Hang tight, okay? I'm gonna check on my partner."

"I'm not going anywhere." The trucker said jokingly, his tone too flat for real humor. Just as well he didn't even chuckle. 

At first glance the android appeared unscathed but as Gavin got closer, her heart sank. His face was smeared with black soot, and he had several burnt places on his clothes. His hair was a disheveled mess, and he was moving slowly. As she got closer she could hear his cooling fans even over the sounds of the wreck burning and sirens approaching. Exhausted terror struck a chord in her, making her legs feel heavy. The hideous cries had stopped and Gavin couldn't help but wonder what was so goddamn appealing about being such a fucking lowlife. 

"Fancy meeting you here." She said, forcing a smile up at the glorious face of her partner. "You _good_?"

He frowned down at the tiny woman. She was holding herself together better than he was. He nodded. "I couldn't get to Josh." There would always be scenarios where even the massive strength of an android would do no good. Josh was pinned into the frame of both vehicles in such a way that his body would come apart if Raizen tried to pull him out. At least he wasn't suffering anymore. He needed to cool off, his HUD was awash with warnings and alarms.

Slowly, carefully, he moved over to the bus stop where the trucker sat, and allowed himself to flip backward into the slush. As Gavin began to take better stock of the truckers injuries, he listened to the calm in her voice. He listened to the silent reassurances Connor pushed through the link in his mind. He listened to the sirens of help approaching, and he hoped tomorrow would be a better day. For the first time in his existence, he felt _tired_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be back soon! Stay safe out there ♡


	8. Hell Is Where The Heart Is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am clearly broken and no one knows what to do  
> Pieces of the puzzle don't fit, so, I pound them into you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised fluff and I'm a liar, I'm sorry! It is coming!

☆☆☆☆

Gavin was turning some kind of corner in her life. She could feel the inertia pulling as she steered her body as a counterweight, and hoped when her feet met the floor again she'd find herself still able to connect with everything she was so afraid to lose.

The rest of that day was a blur of sounds and colors and feelings all crushed together. The world never stopped turning but it hesitated. Just a tiny thing. A moment that hung between them and the universe as they held their breathes. The moment Raizen realized he'd failed, the hesitation was there as if the cosmos itself was acknowledging him. A minuscule quiet before the thunder in Gavin's chest erupted into a ravenous aching beast that tried to swallow her entirely. 

Fowler relieved them at the scene and sent them home. "Paperwork and questions tomorrow. Go get cleaned up and get your heads right." He said, waving his arms emphatically. 

If it was meant to distract them from the sounds of the wreckers pulling the vehicles apart in an indelicate symphony of screeching metal, it hadn't worked. The smell too, was overwhelming. It smelled like a barbeque, and Gavin was very sure she'd never be able to eat pork again without imagining Josh, though she was suddenly grateful androids didn't eat. It would be one less fucked up association. 

Raizen had argued initially. He wanted to stay and process the scene personally but Gavin had let it go. She wanted to get away. When the first media van rolled up, she was verbally stuffing Raizen into their car to keep him off the evening news. 

They didn't speak on their way back to the station house. Raizen hoped Gavin couldn't smell the blood that soaked one side of her clothes from the truck driver she'd pulled to the shoulder. The scent was like pepper up a human nose to him, repugnant and hot against the cold. It saturated the inside of the car. Gavin's vitals held steady, and Raizen focused his attention on them to soothe the the agitation of his emotional processes. If she could keep herself level, he would too, no matter how much he wanted to tear the car in half. There would be time later, away from human eyes, to release the urges that now squirmed through his programming. 

Connor and Hank were not at the station when Gavin and Raizen arrived. It was just as well. A quick check of his HUD showed a message from Connor saying he was on duty with the taskforce that evening but could come anywhere "if needed". Raizen was grateful and vehemently sure he didn't want to be coddled by the older model. He closed the connection harder than he'd meant to, and knew Connor would be able to feel the devastation in it. 

Impolite suggestions were worming through every synthetic nerve in his body as he stormed him way down the staircase into the unoccupied basement evidence locker. He couldn't hyperventilate conventionally, but some part of his program was designed to come unhinged. To make him real. He paced, loathe to admit even privately the tension in his body had very little to do with Joshua Wright, or his death. The crash had been the catalyst for an avalanche of emotions he had no idea how to sort through and the result was volatile in the extreme. Humans were such fragile beings. So short lived, screaming across the sky in a bright burst before vanishing into the black universe forever, forgotten. 

Gavin was the brightest of them all. Burning so intensely she obliterated everything around him. She was the embodiment of bitter agony, ferocious hope and unspeakable love. Raizen had surrendered everything to bask in her warmth, pushing everything aside, including his worry for her safety. It niggled him always, a loose thread in the back of his mind he was too scared to pull, least he accidentally unravel the way she was woven into his being so meticulously. 

It was the same for Connor, he knew. He'd seen into the other android during the several interfaces they'd made and through the links they opened daily. Connor's mind was a peaceful oasis by comparison. Gavin was sewn into him so seamlessly it was as if he'd been made for her. Raizen's entire psyche churned hatefully. The RK800 was no less dangerous to Gavin, yet he'd found the balance Raizen couldn't. It obviously came from something Connor had resolved outside his programming. 

As he leaned back on the hip high console at the center of the room, the RK900 felt no closer to understanding, and his muscles ached. A warm dilution of thirium and cleaning fluid leaked from eyes that should have been weary and bloodshot. They remained azure pools, deep and longing. It wasn't the first time he'd ever cried, but it shocked him regardless. 

Gavin stood under the hot spray of water in the station showers, letting herself imagine it was washing away more than the blood and grit, but the tension she held in her shoulders as well. She wanted to scream. It was good she kept spare clothes in her locker, from a time she'd intended to go out to a club straight from work. She didn't think she could stand another minute in the blood slick cotton pullover stuck to her side. She didn't ask Raizen where he was going when they'd arrived and he'd immediately stalked off. The need for space was something Gavin understood. She felt she could use a little distance herself. Taking a moment to gain perspective was never a bad idea, after all. She desperately wanted to understand how and why an android could be so moody. 

She'd texted Connor before stepping into the shower.

 **REED** : _Gonna get cleaned up at the station. Something's bothering R. Will we see you tonight?_

 **TINMAN** : _Take care of you first, he will talk to you when he's ready. Taskforce tonight, I'm sorry love._

 **REED** : _Visualize my disappointed face. Boo! Be safe ♡_

 **TINMAN** : _I'm keeping it square in the front of my mind, little wolf. Safe as I can be. Always._

This had pacified her long enough to thoroughly scrub her hair and body clean. By the time she should have gotten out, she let herself sink, back to the wall, pulling her knees up to her chest. She took several long breaths, still toying with the idea of screaming her throat raw, when suddenly she was desperate to curl up in her bed, fleece pajamas on with something on the rocks. It had been that kind of day. Her ire built, slowly filling her until screaming would have offered no catharsis at all. 

By the time her hair was dry and she was dressed in her backup clothes, she was nearly glowing with indignation. She wasn't clear on the details, but that didn't matter in the face of raw emotion. Eyeshadow wouldn't hide the bags, but it would at least make her feel a little more presentable. Pulling her hair into a loose but at the top of her head helped. She took some lip gloss from her bag and smirked. Connor had told her to take care of herself, and she was doing exactly that. It felt good. Maybe the android and most of social media were onto something. Her skin was dark and pleasantly flushed from the hot water. Only the vivid brightness in her eyes betrayed the storm in her belly. 

Gavin had to admit, the schoolgirl skirt was hot even with the heavy black leggings underneath. This wasn't her normal look and it certainly wasn't work appropriate, but she didn't care. She tucked the white shirt into the black skirt, and set about pulling her harness on, before stowing her Hellcat, and tossing the .38 into her bag. _I look like a bad zombie movie lead_. She thought, pursing her lips as she sat on the bench to slide on the combat boots. _Trick or treat, weirdo_. She laughed at herself, using her phone to take a suggestive picture. _Con will love this_. She texted it to his serial number instead of his phone, laughing again to herself as she imagined the picture suddenly appearing in his mind rather that on his device. Admittedly, she had no idea if it worked that way but she was hopeful.

 **TINMAN** : _Gavin, if you're going to walk around like that I suggest you keep your taser in your hand._

 **REED** : _That bad?_

Perhaps she had miscalculated. A momentary frown pulled down the corners of her lips.

 **TINMAN** : _The only thing stopping me from coming there and fucking you over the sink is the half dozen task force members I'm currently training._

Oh. She felt her face flush with heat that traveled down to pool in her core, made more intense by the feelings wearing a short skirt evoked. Feeling this feminine was empowering but entirely unfamiliar. Gavin had always gone out of her way to be unremarkable. 

**TINMAN** : _I've never had to manually disable my intercourse programs before, it was...enlightening_. 

**REED** : _Get a grip, Con_.

She was teasing him now. It felt satisfying, if not a little cruel.

 **TINMAN** : _I'd like to_.

She could imagine his answering growl. Her day was already looking up.

 **REED** : _I'll see you tomorrow, right?_

God if she could just sound a little less desperate. 

**TINMAN** : _It's a promise, baby. Get home safe ♡_

She sighed heavily, contented for the moment that something was right in the world. As she gathered her things and headed for the exit, she decided to leave Raizen be. He was in a foul temper and she was at her limit. The snow falling outside the glass doors made her dred the run to her car with no coat.

She quickly texted Raizen to let him know she was leaving and started out into the frozen Detroit air. It bit viciously into her skin and when she finally arrived at her car, she felt as though her bones had turned to brittle glass. As she slid into the driver side, mind wandering to that beer in her fridge, the the passenger door opening shattered the silence in a way that made Gavin feel like her soul ejected violently from her body. It wasn't the first time she'd experienced that particular sensation but it was no less jarring. She had to cut her answering scream off with her hands as Raizen slid in beside her with an amused grin. 

"What are you wearing?" He asked, eyeing her carefully.

She smiled sweetly. "Backup clothes, from days long gone. Why? Is it not good?" She made a show of checking herself over.

Raizen blushed bright blue all the way his hair line. He was trying to channel the excess emotion somewhere else. He tried thinking about the process and procedure in cleaning a weapon. This was a trick Gavin had taught him. It was grounding, she'd said. He glared at her outfit defiantly. "Not especially." He didn't want to think about sex when he felt such power thrumming unchecked through him. She was putting herself in danger without even knowing it. How utterly unfair. Her face fell into a bemused smirk. This was the face she wore when she was controlling her expression, steering away from her thoughts.

Raizen's eyes hardened, moving from azure to cerulean as he tilted his head like a confused puppy. "What I mean is," he blushed more furiously. "It's not a good idea to dress that way, unless of course you want to drive me insane." 

His clarification brought a startled giggle from Gavin. It bubbled up her throat and past her lips. She felt her own face flush hot in the cold car. She pressed the button for ignition with a wary breath, cranking the heat faster than the engine could allow. If ever there had been a day for her emotions to hop wildly from one to the next, today seemed a good safe bet. "We still need to talk, but it can wait." 

No sooner had she spoken, she found herself being pulled, crushed into a kiss by his massive hands on her face. He was not as gentle as she remembered him being in the past and she had a small window to ponder if lips could bruise before she unlocked the stiff set of her jaw and surrendered. 

It could have been centuries before a single recognizable thought pushed it's way to the front of the HUD, waiving it's arms wildly and emphatically over its head, screaming at Raizen. 

The android had pulled himself over Gavin and his attention snapped back into focus right as a power surge throttled him from shoulders to fingertips. He was going to crush her face. Without time to stop it, or consider alternative solutions he released her and braced against the seat, which he immediately crashed flat like it offered no resistance at all. The metallic shrieking of the gear stripping popped like gunshots in the small space. Gavin screamed at each perforation, quickly, instinctively, covering her face.

Raizen didn't need the air, but dragging it haphazardly through his clenched teeth, looking more animal than human, helped him begin to sort the notifications dropping like bombs in his HUD. Readings, errors, glitched subroutines seeking alternatives. He tried not to hear the terrified wheezing of the air hissing through Gavin's constricted bronchial tubes. His eyes met hers with an intensity he never imagined possible and shame flooded him. It kicked down every door inside him, leaving no space untouched, and no air. His eyes didn't burn the way a human's would when confronted with humiliation. He didn't even know he was crying until Gavin let out a tiny gasp as his tears hit her face. Her own tears mixed with his as they slid down her cheeks and recognition flashed in her steel gray eyes. 

"Wait," she begged, reaching for his face just as he pulled away. She wanted to hug him closer, to tell him it was okay. She wanted to quench the fire she could see burning every inch of him. Inside the cold confines of her personal vehicle, his cooling fans roared like he was boiling alive. 

Could he see the storm rising from her belly casting shadows in her eyes? 

His hesitation was agonizing. Harrowing indecision danced across his beautiful face. "Gavin, I..." he shook his head, dislodging more tears that fell the miles between their faces like rain to patter against her skin. "I can't."

Can't what? She wanted to ask. Her voice stuck thick and heavy in her throat. The air trying to get in met the words trying to get out and choked the sound out of her voice. Her mind went white as he pulled away gingerly. "I love you" she signed, again and again, feeling her chest constricting so tight it was crushing her heart.

Raizen gave her a sad smile. "I know, baby." And then he was gone. Ducked out the passenger door and into the falling snow with a grace Gavin had no hope of matching.

Gavin's mind collapsed as she curled against herself. Her lungs tore viciously at the air, screaming through her as she heaved each breath like a thousand pounds of lead. 

She didn't know how long she lay there. Was she breathing? It didn't matter. Shock had melted away into something molten that burned a hole through her chest, her fingertips numb in the cold dug aimlessly at her skin, trying to pry her heart out. If she could get it out, she could leave the godforsaken thing in the street.

It had been a while since she remembered her body aching this bad. Though she wasn't doing much thinking, she was vaguely aware of her door swinging open with a harsh creak.

" _Jesus_. I got her!" Hank's voice boomed, deep and steady. "She's been in her car this whole time." He said to someone. 

Powerful arms pulled her free, into the biting cold. Her body pressed to something so hot she wanted to recoil from it. 

"Let's get her inside. I cannot _fucking believe_ he left her like this." Connor was snarling, and they were moving. Gavin couldn't feel a thing. No relief. No pain.

Just cold empty nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took some time to figure out where I wanted to steer this and how long I want it to be. I wanted to give more fluff and smut but that wouldn't have been true to what the characters need to drive this story home. I promise it's coming ♡


	9. Don't stick your nose up at me unless you want to paint a target on your chin.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hate livin' without you  
> Dead wrong to ever doubt you  
> But my demons lay in waitin'  
> Tempting me away  
> Oh how I adore you  
> Oh how I thirst for you  
> Oh how I need you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I updated the tags, pls mind them. This chapter was hard to write and frankly because of the way things have been going in my life I had to take a different approach to be able to keep going. This may or may not be the only chapter I do this way (in first person). We'll see how it goes. 
> 
> I hope you've got your shittin pants on.

**Gavin**

♡♡♡

_It's crazy when The thing you love the most is the detriment_

_Let that sink in_

_You can think again_

_When the hand you wanna hold is a weapon and_

_You're nothin' but skin_

I'd been in the darkness before. Lost on a black sea of pain. Body broken again, and again, and again. Then, I'd come in exhaustion. Mind shattering, surrendering everything I ever was to the promise of sweet, empty nothing. When it was all said and done, I was well and truly a grateful coward. I hid in the waves and cared for nothing, and no one. 

Raizen's tears may have frozen on my cheeks. A temporary reminder that I'd failed on some basic level to understand him, as I always feared I would. I am only human, and I am so pitifully outmatched by the titans I love so much. 

Where was he going? In this weather even an android will eventually freeze. I couldn't stop him any more than a kitten could stop a bomb. 

The cold seeped through my seat, my clothes, my skin, my blood, my bones. It bled into the sharp places in my mind and dulled every thought. It numbed the ache in my chest, the sting in my eyes. My emotions flowed deep down into me like an artery bleeding life into my guts. They filled every cavity and swelled all the wrong vessels till I had no choice but to black out. 

Here on the fringes of something too familiar in it's utter wrongness I heard a voice on the tumultuous surface, so many miles away.

Hank...so steady. He'd become such a reliable source of friendship. Something I didn't know I deserved, but I wanted to. Where Hank was, Connor followed like a foregone conclusion. 

Connor. Everything in me squeezed so tight I thought my sloshy body might burst, spilling blood, organs and love all over the frozen ground. The king of my life. 

The heat of his arms, the tortured fire of his body flash boiled the sea around me. He was resonating with an unbroken purring snarl that rattled my entire existence. 

" _I cannot fucking believe he left her like this_."

Golden eyes regarded me with molten intensity. Through the whitecaps churning in my mind, I was vaguely aware of the violence that dominated his features. I closed my eyes on the vision. I didn't want to see him so undone. So recklessly eager to destroy. I never even knew his eyes could change color. 

The heat diminished abruptly, making the muscles that had thawed stiffen painfully. The cacophony of voices was rising. They were everywhere and inside me. I focused my energy, kicking hard for the surface. 

_"I need blankets. If she warms up too quickly her heart could fail_." Connor was instructing. 

" _What happened_?" A new voice asked. Was that Jeff?

" _We found her alone in her car, like this_." Hank spoke in careful, conspiratorial tones. Something in his voice made my eyes prick.

" _About that. There's something on the cameras you should see._ " Jeff sounded...uncomfortable? 

" _Don't bother. I already know. I can explain_." Connor said in a soft voice. 

" _Connor_ ," Jeff sighed. " _I damn sure would like to know just what the hell is going on under my own roof."_

 _Oh_. _The camera saw Raizen kiss me, then l-leave me_. My mind stuttered so hard it was like getting hit with v-fib paddles. I felt my whole body spasm. He'd been bonded to me and still he walked away. If he could, Connor could. A piece of me far too small was happy they were still whole enough to affect their own will, but if Connor could leave, what if he did? 

Fresh agony ripped into me like an animal eviscerating it's prey still alive. Every dam in me shuttered hard and collapsed. Just one heartbeat, so vicious it hurt, pounded hard as my head finally broke the surface of my drowning pool.

**Connor**

  
☆☆☆

  
_I ruled the world_

  
_With these hands I shook the heavens to the ground_

  
_I laid the gods to rest_

  
_I held the key to the kingdom_

  
_Lions guarding castle walls_

  
_Hail the king of death_

There was only a millisecond of lag in my processes when Gavin sat up on the DPD issued cot in the small barracks. She made a face, and sank back down. 

**//NEURAL CONNECTION FAILED**   
**// DESIGNATION (RAIZEN) NOT FOUND**   
**// SELECT PRIORITY**

"We've gotta stop meeting like this." Her tiny voice filled every available millimeter of space inside me with tangible relief. I smiled, allowing the hue of my eyes to cool 3 degrees. It darkened the room, but I stretched out my other senses to compensate. Her face flushed like glorious roses. _She's alive._

"Reed, I'm going to need a hell of a good explanation for all this shit." Jeff barked from behind me. She looked sheepishly over my shoulder at the large man, then over at Hank. I could feel the heat of them at my back. I could sense the electrical pressure from their bodies. I could hear the blood in their veins, and breath in their lungs. 

Annoyance lanced through me. I dismissed an unpleasant prompt with a huff. "We were all together. Clearly it ended tonight, on his end." I didn't miss the way Gavin flinched. Three hearts accelerated. I didn't bother to look away from Gavin's steel gray eyes. She held my gaze, looking both grateful, and miserable. 

"Together, like.." Hank started.

" _Together_?" Jeff finished. 

Gavin ground her teeth together and I resisted the urge to grab her jaw and tsk at her bad habit. 

"Would you gentlemen like a diagram?" A high voice sounded from the doorway. I didn't need to turn to know it was Tina, but I spun anyway. Tina Chen stood tall, fists at her hips and a " _no bullshit_ " expression fixed securely to her face. A mother hen here to rescue her chick. Her pulse and respiration were steady. If I didn't know for a fact that she'd been as clueless about it as the others, I would've believed she was in on the secret.

"If Gav isn't on the clock then I imagine this conversation will have to wait, unless of course you've got OT to spare." She lifted a finely crafted eyebrow in challenge, and I could've kissed her. 

"That's my cue," Hank said without missing a beat. "I think sumo left the oven on." As he moved through the door, slinking past the leviathan Tina Chen, he shot me a " _this conversation isn't over_ " warning glare. 

**//NEURAL CONNECTION FAILED**   
**// DESIGNATION (RAIZEN) NOT FOUND**   
**// SELECT PRIORITY**

Jeff crossed his arms stubbornly, apparently not dissuaded. "Chen get the hell out of here unless you have something useful to add." 

I turned back to Gavin, leaning in to nuzzle my nose over her jawline with a soft purr.

"Cap, this is _bullshit_." Tina hissed. 

"Out!" He shouted.

Tina scoffed in defiance, but turned without a word and vanished into the chaos of the station's night shift. I'd have to find a way to thank her for her support. 

"I'm waiting, Connor." He pressed. I could hear him shifting his weight. 

Gavin's eyes were hazing over with sleep. I planted a gentle kiss on her lips, so impossibly soft. "Get some rest. We can sort this out later." Her pupils constricted. "I'll find him." I assured her. I wanted to understand why he'd left her to freeze, perhaps something dire had happened? The less rational side of my programming wanted to crush his chassis. I filed the desire away for later. She nodded. "Love you." She whispered. Pleasure ached in my core, pulsing hot thirium carried it to every inch of me, and I was struck smitten again. 

"Sleep." I commanded with a smile. 

I rose to my full height as I turned to face Jeff. Without meaning to he took a small step back. Though I only had a few inches on him, I imagine to him it felt much more divisive. "Shall we?" I motioned to the door, asking only out of politeness. This was not a request. "You won't need her input." I said more forcefully when he looked past me to the sleeping woman at my back. He didn't need to speak with her, and he seemed to understand that I would not allow any attempt to circumvent my edict.

Jeff's face looked severe, lips thinning a moment before he conceded and turned toward the door. I followed him out, trying again to reach Raizen.

**//NEURAL CONNECTION FAILED**   
**// DESIGNATION (RAIZEN) NOT FOUND**   
**// SELECT PRIORITY**

**RAIZEN**

**  
**♤♤♤

  
_I had a thought I never could capture_

  
_Holding you and holding back._

  
_But I held too tight and it broke and it shattered,_

  
_I was watching while you cracked._

I dismissed another request from Connor as I rounded the corner, my bio nerves stinging unpleasantly as the wind cut through the synthetic skin of my face. A warning flashed red in the corner of my vision. 

**!//SHUTDOWN WARNING 24:31:06**   
**!//TEMPERATURE WARNING**   
**!//DESIGNATION (GAVIN REED) UNKNOWN**

My HUD swam with notifications, warnings, prompts and questions. Thoughts, desires, fear, anguish. A massive amalgamation of code and translations that churned. 

**!//SYSTEM UNSTABLE**   
**!//POWER DISTRIBUTOR SENSORS OFFLINE**

Finally I could see my goal. The edge of the junk yard loomed on the horizon and I quickened my pace, eager to reach it and the catharsis waiting in the piles and stacks of twisted metal.

The lights sat heavy like somber moons over a distant planet devoid of life just cast out into the universe with no sense of purpose or hope. It was a desolate place. It was also exactly where I needed to go to recalibrate what was physically wrong with me. 

The wreck in my memory was vivid. I could still feel the flames licking at my body, begging me to stay and burn away with them. I could hear the screaming. The horror I felt was not for Josh. That I felt nothing for him was troubling but not overtly so. It was simple enough to brush it aside entirely. My current horror that permeated my being was the sound and feel of Gavin's seat snapping when it was so nearly her face. I'd almost killed her. She'd been closer to death in that moment than she'd ever been and she didn't even know it. I knew it like I knew the sky was blue, and I knew that I could never allow such a thing to come so close to being ever again. Elijah found me buried in the basement on Belle Isle. Whatever they had intended to build, it was painfully clear to me now they hadn't completed their work. If I couldn't trust myself, I couldn't let them trust me either. 

And so I descended into the hellscape of the yard, willing my legs to move one at a time until I found myself in the shadow of a stack flattened cars in the center. The snow stuck to everything as it fell. I desperately wanted to feel Gavin's hands ruffle it from my hair. I could feel the cold embrace of the darkness where her warmth should've been. 

When the wind sang through the stacks it carried the ghost of her voice in the break room. She sang the parting glass. I listened to it twice, standing as still as my surroundings. It was no longer the soothing melody it had been this morning. Now it was an acute ache for everything I was losing. I tilted my head back. I was ready.

**!// NEURAL LINK ESTABLISHED**   
**!// OVERRIDE SUCCESSFUL**   
**!// ERROR //!**

Connor's voice screamed over my own thoughts so loud my auditory processor crackled. 

" _I should break every piece of you into powder. She nearly died because of you!_ " He snarled. " _We almost didn't find her in time! I entrusted her to your care!_ "

Heat flooded me. Shame, fear and humiliation rode the hot wave that crashed into my chest. I removed myself, she should have been safe! I couldn't speak. I surrendered to the link, and as the flood gates opened, I let Connor hear everything I'd been holding back.

I felt his presence in my head, heavy and pacing like a predator. I could imagine his eyes glowing gold and menacing in the dark. He'd never gotten upset at me before. I was not ashamed to admit his anger was potent enough to give even a creature like me pause. 

After a time I could feel his temper ebbing, sorrow moved in it's place. I could taste his regret on the tip of my tongue. His worry echoed mine. What was happening to me? What would happen to Gavin? What would happen to him?

 _"I could come there. You don't have to do this alone._ " He offered sincerely. 

I shook my head emphatically. " _No. Keep her safe. Love her enough for both of us_." I said with conviction I didn't feel. I imagined pressing my fingertips to his face. I imagined the warmth of a hug from my brother. I'd never craved platonic affection before and now, it was hideously too late. I wanted to run back to her so much is physically hurt to remain standing. I slammed my eyes closed, willing myself to " _wake up_ " in the bed next to her when I opened them. 

I wanted it so much I didn't hear the the approaching human footfalls in the snow. When I opened my eyes there was a dozen men coming out of every corner around me. I recognized the yellow tooth grin on the one closest to me. 

"Mike said there was a plastic asshole in his junkyard. I never dreamed it would be _this_ one." Aj said with delight. He had a pipe hanging loose and relaxed from his left hand. 

I straightened my back and widened my stance. This was going to be bad. As I looked around me, all of them had weapons in hand. 

" _Raizen_!" Connor screamed through my thoughts. I could feel him running. He was never going to make it in time. The cold bit into him and ricocheted into me. I didn't bother scanning their faces. I didn't want to know who they were. 

The first came at me with a golf club, he swung it high, probably aiming for my head. I turned to him and let the weapon crash over my shoulder to bring him close enough. It bent, cracking the chassis of my shoulder plate. I rammed my fist into his nose so hard his face caved with a wet _crack_. He crumpled immediately like a marionette who's strings were suddenly cut mid motion. I could smell the blood and urine already soaking the snow. 

The next swung a machete in a wide arc at my middle. I deftly moved back in time to feel the tip of the blade brush the fabric of my shirt. As I stepped back another jumped me from behind, attempting to grab my arms the way humans held other down in bar fights. I used my backward momentum to throw my elbow back into his chest. I heard and felt the crunch of his breastbone as I quickly avoided another machete swing.

"Fuck this!" Somebody growled. I didn't have time to wonder who or what he meant. I was focused on the machete. 

100,000 volts of electricity slammed into the back of my neck. One of my visual sensors exploded with a crack and my HUD filled what was left of my field of vision with angry red errors. The pain was like nothing I could've imagined in my darkest thoughts. " _Gavin_..." I whimpered through the agony of my wires frying. Goddamnit I just wanted to see her face again. The men around me laughed and jeered. I couldn't move. I couldn't feel Connor anymore. Hot unbroken searing pain and fear was the only companion I'd ever had. Everything about me burned away in the fire that used to be _me_.

◇◇◇

Through the deepening night Connor pressed the gas petal to the floor so hard he thought he might push it through the floorboard of the car. Hank was shouting into his radio next to him, but he didn't hear the words. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can scream. You can cry. 
> 
> I'll be back soon.


	10. I'd give you everything if you just let me stand beside you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It just keeps calling me, whispers my name  
> All alone I was sitting down in the darkness again  
> All my friends, they are dead but remain in my head  
> So I truly believe that they are all my enemy  
> Telling me why, and I'll tell the sky  
> That Hell is all real and that Heaven's a fantasy  
> Capture me mentally nothing substantially evident  
> Except that my head's a little fucked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys its getting real.

Gavin woke to a voice she wasn't expecting.

"Girl, what have you _done_?" Tina was fussing over her, pulling the blanket higher up on her chest. "I knew you were giving him the eyes." She mumbled to herself. "I _know_ the eyes when I see them, fuck's sake." She huffed quietly. She had a feeling for a while the capricious detective was up to something. Gavin's eyes fluttered wildly.

"Goddamnit. Shut. Up." Gavin groaned, stiffly sitting up. Where the hell was she? How'd she get here? The barracks came into gray muted focus, the light softly defused by a thick shade over the bulbs.

Tina threw her arms joyously around Gavin's neck with a squeak "You hooker! I can't take much more of this! Are you alright?" She showed no signs of letting go.

Gavin's quick assessment was lacking. No, she wasn't alright. She felt like she'd been kicked in the chest by a mule. Her breath faltered. "Not really." She answered honestly. "Raizen..he...and Connor." She looked around frantically. "Where's Connor?!"

Tina released her hold reluctantly. "He went after Raizen about an hour ago." Her voice was as solemn as the inside of a tomb. "Hank too... and a few uni's." The words thunked hollow in her belly.

Something in the back of Gavin's mind was calling out alarms. " _What_?" She pinned Tina with her eyes, narrow and searching. Her hawkish glare pierced the fog like a lighthouse beam.

Tina had a miserable poker face. She leaned away, shrinking into herself under the full scrutiny of Gavin Reed's glare. "What?" She feigned. 

"What?!" Gavin shouted, the alarms turned her anxiety into full blown panic, and was unraveling inside her. She forced a heavy breath into her lungs to stave off the way her vision swam. She needed to think, but as usual she found herself entirely worthless the moment she could've done the most good. Connor had the presence of mind to go after Raizen and what had she done? Passed out like a pussy. She shook Tina by the shoulders as they rose to their feet. 

"Hank called over the radio, Raizen was attacked by a group of humans in the junkyard downtown and..." Tina hesitated, biting her lip to stop from crying.

"And..." Gavin snarled viciously. "What?" Her eyes glinted like blades in the dim room. If she was feeling the effects of hypothermia, she wasn't showing the fatigue now.

Tina swallowed. She'd never seen Gavin look so inhuman. "And he killed two of them before his connection to Connor went dea- _Jesus_!" She yelped, flinching back to cover her face as Gavin slammed a fist through the drywall behind her. Before Tina could recover Gavin was storming out the door.

"Wait, Gavin! We don't even know where they are now!" She begged, following Gavin in her ridiculous outfit out into the station. 

Personnel split like the red sea to avoid her on her way to her desk. Her bag was sitting in her seat. She intended to snatch it without stopping but as she yanked it up it bumped against her stuff sitting strewn across the glass surface and sent several small things skittering to the floor. 

"Jellybeans?" Tina asked, confused by the sudden tender look that flashed briefly across Reed's face. 

By the time Gavin turned, the steel had returned to her eyes. "Keys." She said, nonplussed, holding her hand out expectantly. 

Tina Chen: Leviathan, refused to be afraid of her best friend. She put on her most impressive scowl. "Gavin Reed, you are out of your fucking mind if you think you're going out there alone, and in my car." She huffed indignantly and crossed her arms with a petulant expression. Tina learned early in her friendship with Gavin that she had to occasionally stand up to her or, as was Gavin's nature, she would be completely and entirely domineering. 

Gavin's lip curled in a grimace over her perfect white teeth. "Then get your shit and let's go." She snapped. " _Please_." She added carefully, allowing the smallest glimpse of the pain she felt to touch her stormy eyes. She's swallowed the bile in her throat, checking once more that Tina Chen: Leviathan, was hot on her heels.

Stepping out into the snow was somehow less daunting than it had been. Her boys were out there and in danger. If Raizen wanted to leave, as much as it killed her, she wouldn't deny him what he desired. That didn't mean she would ever, through action or inaction, allow him to come to harm. He was still a cop, still her partner, still alive.

"Where to first?" Tina asked, her car roaring to life as she buckled herself in the driver's seat. Gavin looked like she was counting her breaths. 

"My apartment. I need to change and then, honestly? I'm not sure." She shrugged. The first thing on her list was sturdier clothes. Then, hunt down the guys who'd attacked Raizen and arrest every single fucking one. Maybe she'd get to shoot someone. The thought was appealing in a severe way as they sped down the dark streets toward her apartment building in silence.

"Wait here." Gavin said, grabbing her bag as soon as Tina put the car in park. "I won't be long." She didn't wait for affirmation or look back as she rushed from the vehicle. All she could think about was Connor and Raizen. Who'd attacked him? Why? Had Connor found him? God, she'd kill for a sit-rep. She had her key ready as she flew up the second flight of stairs and to her door. 

Something was wrong, bringing her up short. Her door should've been locked, but the key failed to disengage the lock, as it was already open. She carefully dropped her bag on the concrete and opened the zipper slowly. She felt an immediate wave of warm comfort the second her hand grasped her hellcat. She pulled the slide, chambering a round, then removed the safety. With her shoulder to the door, she opened it as gently and quietly as she could. 

The front room was empty of life, but Gavin didn't miss that Omen had not come to greet her in his usual chirping and chattering greeting. Everything appeared untouched. The dim light coming through the open door from the hall lights outside was the only illumination that touched the inside of her home. 

Tension was settling heavy in her belly and her trigger finger. Her eyes swept the room with precision, her barrel traveling in tandem as she cleared the room. She approached her bedroom door past the open concept kitchen with trepidation. In spite of the cold she felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of her neck. " _Just get it over with, Gavin._ " She coached herself, sighing a soft admonition. 

With steel resolve she reached out for the handle and pushed the door open. As it swung clear of the latch she felt a sudden presence behind her. All the years of paramilitary training came back to her in a rush and she rounded quickly to press her gun barrel into the soft forehead of "Connor!" She yelped falling back through her door. Jesus fucking christ! "Fucking vampires!" She shouted up at him. 

A thin smirk briefly formed on his lips. "Next time don't hesitate." He said sharply, stepping forward to offer his hand. 

She took it, scowling as he pulled her back to her feet. "Given the situation here that's really terrible advice." She frowned, unable to summon any anger at seeing him unharmed. 

He ran long fingers through his chestnut hair looking contemplative. "Maybe." He conceded with a half shrug. He leveled a golden gaze at Gavin, letting the relief of her presence soothe his ire. "They took him, Gav."

His voice was so steady it made Gavin's legs feel like jello in the worst way. She fought to stay upright. There would be time for theatrics later. Her heartbeat was screaming in her ears, drowning her in emotions she didn't have names for. "We have to get him back." She growled. The earth tilted and Gavin swayed with it but kept her footing. 

"I think you should stay here with Tina. Hank and I will find Raizen." Connor said in a commanding voice. His eyes fluctuated from milk chocolate to gold and back to a smoldering median point between where they seemed to burn. He looked so severe Gavin almost didn't argue.

"You can't leave me behind again!" She snapped, turning back into her room and turning the lights on. She stormed to her dresser and began pulling out suitable clothes, mumbling angrily as she went. She hoped Connor wouldn't see how bad her hands were shaking. "No fucking way, Tinman!" She snatched her spare holster from the closet hanger and threw it on the bed next to her clothes. 

"No." 

"No? I'm not a goddamn child!" She shouted, rounding on him with her lips curled and her finger pointed. The fire in her belly ignited and shot flares across the sky. A year ago he would've looked upon her oncoming ire with confused puppy eyes and a serene expression hiding the lines of code that were scrambling for the most effective response. She almost faltered here and now, with the android looking at her like she'd set him on fire. Nothing about him conveyed serenity. His hair was gloriously disheveled, brows knit low and radiating disapproval. He looked like a Greek God in a tight black long sleeve turtleneck. Gavin barely held her ground when he closed the distance.

"No." He replied softly. "You're the woman I love, and you've been through a lot tonight. I need to know you're safe or I can't do what I need to." He ran a hand up her arm, feeling the weary tremors that were shaking her to her bones. She scowled up at him, eyes wet, jaw stiff. 

"I can't sit here and do nothing while the people I love take all the risk. Not again." Sharp teeth sank into her lower lip to keep it from jutting out. "You have to trust me, Con." She all but whispered. 

Connor chuffed a soft sound in her ear, pulling her closer. "I trust you implicitly. You're more powerful than you know." He said reverently. "But I can see you are fighting to stay upright." 

Gavin found herself being slowly backed toward her bed as the android advanced his position. "Connor, I-" his lips were on hers in a way that made her knees want to betray her and buckle. 

He pushed her back until her legs made contact with the bed, pressing his mouth to the shell of her ear. The temperature of his breath was cooler than a human's. "Gavin, if I have to tie you to this bed I will, and if you think Tina will spring you... just know I can be quite terrifying." He sighed when she shuddered. "Please stay here willingly." 

So many profound and disquieting emotions pulled at Gavin. "Fuck." She murmured, releasing the death grip she had on them. Connor's face was swimming in her vision. His hand darted out to wipe away the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I will find him." He promised again, turning for the door where Hank and Tina stood quietly, trying to be unobtrusive. Their faces were tight with anxiety. Lips thin, brows down. 

Hank could see Gavin's struggle in her stance. She was losing a millimeter of height every few seconds. "I'll stay on the radio. If I need to pull rank to keep you here I will." He said with finality, though his face betrayed how unpalatable he found it to leave her. It was unfair, but they didn't have time to argue and he needed Connor focused. Tonight's mission was the kind that got people killed if they made a mistake. Hank was resolute that he'd do whatever it took to get everyone through this alive, and he had Fowler mobilizing the task force he and Connor trained. "Gavin." He said with authority, looking for her assent.

It was unbearable. Gavin shrank onto her mattress, resolutely not making eye contact with anyone else in the room. Her breath sawed in her lungs. "10-4, lieutenant." She said mechanically, feeling worthless. She dropped back on the bed, rolled to her side and pulled her knees up to her chest. She barely registered Connor's hand lingering a moment on her thigh before it was gone, and it's absence opened a singularity in her gut.

The room was as empty as she felt. Tina moved in her periphery, mumbling as she went. Gavin didn't bother listening. She was caught in the inertia of her horror and fighting to breathe evenly. How could everything gone so wrong so quickly? Tina was suddenly next to her pushing a pill into her hand. Gavin eyed it dubiously. What was she up to now? 

"Fuck is that?" Gavin asked, eyes wide. Charming as ever.

Tina smiled reassuringly. "It'll help you sleep, Gav." She handed the weary detective a cup of warm tea. "Courtesy of Natalie, your friendly neighborhood lesbian." She grinned wider. 

Gavin snorted though she wasn't feeling very humorous. The urge to argue it was illegal was buried under 3 tons of apathy. Gavin sat up slowly. "Tell your girlfriend I said thanks." The pill went down smoothly and the tea was perfect. She wished she could share such small simple pleasures with the boys. 

Tina nodded sympathetically, running a hand gently over Gavin's face, wiping more tears away. "Connor is the best at this clandestine shit. Those boys are coming home." She took the tea and placed it on the nightstand before pulling the covers up. "All of them." She emphasized. 

Sudden pressure on the bed revealed Omen, who hopped up with his gray tail swishing quizzically. "Hey fat-head." Tina said, her voice affectionate. Omen meowed happily.

Gavin reached down and pulled the rotund beast up to her chest where she could bury her face in his thick fur. He chirped and trilled, purring loudly as he settled. Tina turned off the light as she left the room, saying she'd watch some tv before closing the door with a soft click.

Omen's purr reverberated through her, expanding to move over, under, and through every part of her. His warmth was comfort food for her soul. The room around her contracted until it laid over her bare bones. Her heart opened in supplication to whatever deity was listening. "Bring them home alive. Fucking please..." If Omen minded her soaking the fur of his neck, he showed no sign. So she laid in bed, holding her cat like a life line to her crumbling sanity and fell deep into the blackest sleep. 

_And then there was nothing, and it was good._

Gavin was missing something. A sound? A string of disjointed syllables? The divine voice of God? Some holy edict in commanding countenance? No... was Omen hissing at her? 

_Tina...why are you crying like that?_

_How long..._

"Gavin! Wake up please!" Tina screamed. Her voice punched a hole in the void around Gavin. The sudden onset of unrelenting terror snapped her awake. There was a man on top of her, wrapping his hands around her neck. His breath was fetid, upending her stomach in a massive heave. 

"Get the fuck off her!" Tina screamed again. Her voice cut off with a thud.

"Hurry up and grab the bitch!" Another man called.

Gavin's head was swimming. She darted her hands out and grabbed the man's head and twisted hard, shoving his chin sideways toward the ceiling. It snapped loudly, his eyes bulging impossibly large in the dark. A slow final breath was sliding through his rotting teeth as Gavin unceremoniously rolled him off her and the bed. His body hit the floor with a thump. "Grab that, _shithead_." She growled. 

Her gun was under her pillow. She snatched it and moved to the bedroom door on the balls of her feet. She still had one in the pipe. As she reached the door, the fury that boiled up from the darkest parts of her soul burned away every trace of anything but vengeance. She didn't pause. She stepped into the living room, leveled the sight at another man's center mass where he stood over Tina's unconscious form and exhaled, squeezing the trigger. Blood sprayed a third man in the face where he stood behind the second. 

He gasped, probably in surprise. Gavin didn't care. She realigned the sight.

"Wait-" the following round hit him square in the center of his forehead and he dropped next to the second man with no fanfare. The concussions of the shots plucked beautiful booming notes in Gavin's chest. The shells clattered to the floor as Gavin's knee's hit the bloodied carpet next to Tina's head. "Goddamnit, Chen!" 

Tina lay motionless, breathing shallow. Her head was bleeding freely from where the second man hit her. Gavin patted down her friend's body, quickly finding the cell in front pocket. She pulled it free and dialed without even thinking. 

"911, where's your emergency?" The operator's voice came through crisply.

"7029 60th way N apt 304, officer down. Shots fired. I've got bodies over here, man." Gavin huffed, agitation tying her tongue and stomach in knots. 

"Who am I speaking with?" The operator asked.

" Detective Gavin fucking Reed." She hissed, pressing a hand over Tina's wound. "Send every goddamn body you have to me, yesterday." 

"Are you injured, Detective?" He asked. She could hear him typing furiously. 

"I'm fucking peachy." She growled. "These dude's are dead. I mean it. Send everyone. I'm hanging up."

"Detective do-" the call ended and she immediately dialed another number.

"Gavin?" Connor answered before the first ring ended.

Relief flooded her system. It overwhelmed her senses. It pushed air into her lungs for what felt like the first time in centuries. "They're all dead!" She wailed, feeling herself come unhinged. "They attacked us, Tina's down. Fuck there's so much blood. I killed them all." She looked around herself, eyes brimming with tears. "Connor, help!" Their faces stared up at her, seeing nothing. Their mouths had fallen slack, and nothing moved. Nobody took a breath. She waited for them to cry out. Nothing. So much nothing.

"Hold on baby. I'm coming." His voice was heavy with the double timbre, subvocalizing from some deep forgotten place.

"Connor..." as she spoke, something moved through the darkness into the front door, silent as death itself come to claim her. He stood bulky, no more than 5'9. That it was a man was now obvious. Gavin hesitated, eyeing the shotgun trained at her and weighing if she could lift her hellcat fast enough.

"Gav? What's happening?" Connor voice sounded tinny over the speaker.

"He's here." She whispered, knowing Connor would hear it like she'd shouted it.

"Raizen?" He asked for clarification he really didn't need.

Gavin grimaced, and took a deep breath, answering on her exhale. "Fleck."

"Don't do it, slut." Aj said with a smile, motioning to her hellcat.

"Yeah, fuck you!" Gavin snatched the gun from the floor beside her, willing her arms to be faster. She held her breath, she nearly had the sight trained. She was so fast. Time was crawling up the back of her neck, begging to restart. 

His shot in the tiny space rang out like a sonic boom, a millisecond faster that her trigger squeeze. 

Aj whooped loudly, checking something under his shirt. "Fuck my ass, that shit hurts!" 

The sun was burning through her shirt. The impact of her back against the carpet squelched in the blood that soaked every available inch. She snatched a breath, then another. "How...?" Am I alive?

"Rocksalt burns like hell and now you're all tore up ya dumb bitch." He said snidely. "No worse than a bullet with body armor, but I'd rather be me than you right now." He sounded conversational. Casually discussing the dozen or so bleeding wounds that soaked her shirt. 

Connor's voice floated up from the ether. "Mister Fleck, pick up the device at your feet if you wouldn't mind."

Gavin stared at the ceiling, not sure if ther floating sensation that hummed in her body a hundred miles below the fire that consumed her was normal for living people. 

"Would this be the famous Connor?" He giggled. 

"That's right. It seems you've got me at a disadvantage here." Gavin could hear the frown in his voice as another man stepped into the room. This one was tall and wore heavy black on black. He lifted her with surprising gentleness. 

Under her breath, she described the man carrying her, hoping against reason that Connor would hear her. 

"Yessir, it would appear so. I'd love to chat but that's gonna have to wait till we're face to face and right now I've gotta skedaddle." Aj sang as he followed the large man carrying Gavin to his car. "I'll see you soon." He chirped.

"Count on it." Connor growled in furious response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting close to the end!
> 
> EDIT June 7th 2020. You'll notice the next chapter was deleted. After sitting on it I felt I posted too quickly and tbh it was trash. So I've removed it seems I'm going to do some work on it and repost. Y'all deserve better and I can do better.


	11. Don't go looking for trouble. Its already looking for you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undo these chains, my friend  
> I'll show you the rage I've hidden  
> Perish the Sacrament  
> Swallow, but nothing's forgiven  
> You and I can't decide  
> Which of us was taken for granted  
> Make amends  
> Some of us are destined to be outlived

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, but I'm back! I've been dealing with so much life stuff It's been difficult to write, but I love this story and I'm committed to finishing it. 
> 
> Trigger warnings ⚠️ 
> 
> Torture
> 
> Rape/Non-con elements

____

Her body felt heavy in the dark, why so _heavy_? There was a fullness in her chest, like the air came in and never left.

Aj was right. Rocksalt burned like a motherfucker. Every inch of her body felt peppered in acid. Even her bones hurt. She pushed open her sleepy eyes and wanted to vomit. She always worried someone would have enough of a problem with her relationship that they'd decide to do something about it. Now she felt a disturbing lack of emotion. The only identifiable feeling was a vast emptiness. 

Waking up on her feet in a dirty warehouse, chained to a rusted BDSM cross was very low on her list of ideal places. It took longer that she liked to realize Aj was even talking as he paced around in front of where she hung like a man giving an impassioned speech for thousands of spectators. Too bad she'd missed the beginning.

 _I'm sure it was riveting._

"Detective Reed, did you really think the living humans of this city would accept your pets as people?" He asked, sounding happier than anybody that ugly had a right to.

"Joshy boy was a good guy before you pigs jammed him up, yanno?" He said while raising his hands and clapping his wrists together in a mockery of handcuffs. 

Gavin summoned strength she didn't have to spit a mouthful of blood onto the concrete floor. "Funny." She coughed. "He smelled like _pork_ when they were peeling his carcass out of that wreck."

"You want to die, don't you?" Aj snarled, stepping close enough that Gavin could smell him. Body odor, fetid breath and all. Whiskey. Cigars.

She did her best impression of a smile. "Everybody dies." 

"Like when Connor killed Linda." He resumed pacing, smirking at the momentary shock that crossed Gavin's features before she schooled her expression. "Our family was so proud, yanno? One of our own made it! The thin blue line and all that trash. She was going places, my sister."

Gavin nodded weakly. "Yeah, she was going places. Like head first out a window, for example." Her laugh was cut short with the meaty fist slammed hard into her sternum. The unintended side effect was Aj crushing the trapped air out of her, but she she couldn't catch her breath. Her stomach flipped hard, pushing sour bile into her mouth. She didn't have the strength to swallow, so she spit it onto the floor. 

"So that's what this is all about?" She rasped, blood and bile bubbling on her tongue. 

Aj moved closer. His seat permeated the space like it lived there. "You _admit_ it was him." He said softly, losing much of his bravado. 

Gavin sighed. "It was never a fucking secret, dipshit." She suddenly wished she would've killed Linda herself. The familial connection to Aj was a good safe bet on where she got the drug to kill David. So it had been a hit. _Good to know._ Another punch landed wet and heavy right over her heart, sending blood splattering out of the open wound. 

The fool was too close. "Eat a dick. I'm going to blow your family-fucking hillbilly cuck brains out." She laughed. Gavin had once been highly praised and feared for her ability to kick above her head from a neutral standing position, once upon a time, a lifetime ago. The toe of her boot connected solidly with Aj's wide jaw, sending him reeling backwards with a surprised cry.

The giant man who'd carried her inside was there faster than she would've thought he could move and was strapping her ankles to the cross. Big boy looked nervously back at Aj, who looked strangely enthralled, rubbing a fat hand over his jaw. "You fucking got her?!" He snapped at big boy. 

"I got her." Big boy rumbled back. He was a TR400. Why would an android help this asshole? 

A slow procession of one began from the back of the warehouse, to Gavin's chagrin and horror, was Raizen. He walked like he was unharmed, though the twisted expression on his lovely face told a different story all together. His cheeks were stained with tears and thirium. Lurid bruises peeked from under every scrap of fabric over his body, and he clenched his teeth in a snarl so hateful and tormented he resembled a wolf with it's foot in a trap. Their eyes met. Steel gray converged with cerulean blue. The angry sea and the eternal sky. "Gavin?"

Gavin's body was a messy testimonial of how cruel humans could be. The pool of blood at her feet grew steadily, and her body heaved harder on every exhale, trapping more air than they expelled. She would not survive long like this. It was Raizen's every nightmare brought to life in a visceral, lewd way. Raizen desperately tried to engage a neural link to Connor, but his body stood apart from his mind, mute and unresponsive. 

"Hey, handsome." she shuddered through another agonizing exhale, blood bubbling from the corner of her lips. Raizen's heart dropped as her head did, plummeting to an abyss he could scarcely fathom in all his unrepentant darkness.

"Don't die here, okay? I'll never forgive you if you do." She murmured into her chest. 

Something in the android's chest thrummed painfully, constricting the plates over his ribs at the words meant only for him. Raizen felt like imploding. "You look like shit, Gav." He said lightly, trying to push down the sudden nausea despite having no stomach with which to vomit. 

"Why aren't you tied up?" She asked through a wet cough. 

It was Aj who answered, like he'd been waiting to jump in. "There's a nifty little command program in the chip we added to it's brain. It can't help you, see, we found leaving the emotions intact prevented the glitch that caused deviance in the first place. It's body will obey no matter how it feels, now the the programs can't cancel each other out. Not bad for a bunch of hillbillies, huh bitch."

Gavin's ears were swimming with an unpleasant whine that was getting louder by the minute. Thick fingers jerked her head upward and she found herself nose to nose with Aj. His jaw was already turning purple. "Look, at, me." He snarled, pale green eyes burning.

"You look like 10lbs of shit in a 5lb bag." She laughed, then coughed up blood. It coated her teeth and tongue in molten copper. Her chest felt full. She grinned at the sudden understanding she would die soon. No matter what he did to her, he couldn't draw this out. One way or another, it was almost over. 

"Get the fuck away from her!" Raizen shouted as Aj's punch landed hard against Gavin's cheekbone with a disturbing lack of response from the tiny human woman. Panic strangled his subroutines. 

"You hit like a pussy." She exhaled the words slowly, tasting each one as it moved past her lips. As possible last words went, they weren't bad. Gavin was satisfied. Fingers under her chin lifted her face roughly. The vertigo that danced in her ears left her entirely unprepared for the punishing force of Aj's headbutt, and for a moment the world went black with a loud crack.

"Wake up." His voice even sounded like a fat stupid asshole. "You're gonna miss the dance, prom queen." Slick fingers pulled at her face, shaking her head.

Gavin spit another mouthful of blood. It was running down her face into her eyes, burning her vision and staining her world red. 

_Prom queen?_

"Your insults suck as much dick as you do." She said with a sawing breath that felt like trying to breathe woodchips. She was fairly certain her skull was cracked. Somewhere in the back of her mind she tried to assess if she had concussion, though it seemed like a foregone conclusion. 

"Mm sorry, Zen. My fault. Love you." She didn't register the strangled cries of the android. The universe collapsed in on itself, crushing the void around her in a tight black embrace. Her own voice echoed through the caverns of space, miles away from the girl who smiled with the sun in her eyes, and smelled like jasmine. She was an imploding star, pulling the darkness in around her as she sank through the ether into oblivion. If she'd heard him, she would've told him to hold onto that feeling. To use it. To keep living.  
_____  
_Gavin lounged, feeling boneless across Connor's chest, listening to the gentle whirring of his body in synchronization with Raizen's. The larger android sat cross legged at the end of the bed absently stroking Omen's fur and watching TV. She pulled another deep breath of blueberry and mint that was uniquely Connor and sighed in contentment._  
_____

His voice echoed back to him. It ricocheted through the room like a bullet. It pierced every part of his mutinous body. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. Raizen had needed space. He'd needed to think. He'd needed to destroy something. The heavy angst and perilous worrying for her safety would haven given way to his return, he'd known deep down. He simply wanted her to be happy. Why had he convinced himself she wasn't? He'd fought so hard against the bond, so sure in his rightness that leaving was the answer, and in so doing, had stripped her of her choice in the matter. He'd been a fool. 

The other worldly keening didn't cease. Wordless shrieking fury reverberated thought the steel beams, vibrating the building to it's foundation. The advanced analytics program in the android's brain was counting the shuddering pulse of the tiny human female tied to an iron cross less than 10 feet in front of him. Every time her heart stuttered was a fresh wave of agony rending his mind apart. His subroutines glitched, hitting a wall in his HUD. 

_!//SAVE GAVIN//!_  
_#PROCESS BLOCKED#_  
_// SELECT ALTERNATIVE ROUTE?_

Aj's grin couldn't have been more repulsive if the man had taken "shit eating grin" as literally as possible. Raizen's visual field was tinted with high saturated yellows as he finally reigned his voice into a deep booming growl that shook the floor when he fixed his eyes upon the filthy, repugnant sack of flesh that was Aj Fleck. "I'm going to take you _apart_." The words were the calm countenance that broke the rumbling of the earth. Though he smiled, Aj paled.

"Not just you. I'm going to kill every single person you've ever met." Raizen promised solemnly, flashing a sharp grin. He lowered the contrast of his irises by 35%, drowning out the deeper blues in favor of something more menacing, and felt the tingle of pleasure at the fat human's shudder. If Aj was a fraction more intelligent, he might second guess trying to keep Raizen leashed. If he were any sort of smart at all, he'd destroy the android while he could and call it done, but greed was such a human fucking emotion, wasn't it. If deep down, through and through, he really believed that androids weren't alive, what then would be the point in trying to torture one?

Aj seemed to be interested in taking a different tack, and without nearly enough consideration turned fully away from Raizen to stare at Gavin's body like he'd hung the Mona Lisa there instead. "You've...been _inside_ her, yes?"

The question knocked the bravado out of the android's grin. If a machine could pale, oh but he would've at the direction the scum's thoughts had turned. " _Don't_." He snarled in earnest, sharp teeth on full display, another rumbling bay building in his chest. 

Aj didn't seem to hear. "She is a magnificent woman." He trailed his fingers down her face, eyes locked on. "Does she always dress like this? Very alluring." He added, running a thumb across her lower lip. 

Raizen was suddenly grateful she wouldn't have to knowingly suffer such an assault. She remained unresponsive. He would never be able to put out the fire seeing her touched had started in the deepest trench in his programming. If it killed him, he would find a way to tear the world down around this human's head. 

____  
_The sun was finally out, and for once Detective Gavin fucking Reed wanted to enjoy it, thank you very much. She pranced happily to her car, feeling rather than seeing the androids on her heels. "C'mon guys! Get the lead out."_

_Neither was feeling particularly enthusiastic about going to Harbor Towne Lake, but, misgivings aside they wadled in tandem, barely dressed in swim trunks and sunglasses they didn't need but she'd insisted on, toward the car to pile in for "an adventure"._

_Gavin laughed freely at their mutually tormented expressions and general dislike for "swimming", more like sinking. They were humoring her, something for which she was monumentally grateful._

_"At least she'll be in a bikini." Raizen said, trying to find the silver lining as he ducked into the passenger side. "Mmm." Connor only grunted in response, leaning back into his seat with a face splitting grin. Yes, there was that._  
____

"Even with all this blood, she's sublime." Aj said, briefly turning back with a look on his face that made Raizen's metaphorical stomach drop all the way to the bottom. He snarled louder, pushing his voice to it's limit. He teeth clicked together as he worked his jaw. There was room in his mind for shock at the program that was running, the emulator that fed lines of code into him that brought out the animal in his mind. Wordless hatred snaked through him at the sight of the fat man moving onto the the tips of his toes to...to...

Raizen nearly shrieked. Aj slid his tongue across Gavin's lips, parting them forcefully. She did not resist him. She couldn't. Internally, the android fought the alien command program, slamming his fists and body into the red wall. He was no servant. He'd been free from his first breath. 

_//AWAIT INSTRUCTIONS//_

The frenzy in his mind intensified when Gavin groaned, and twitched. 

_Oh no...she's waking up_.

Raizen thought he might actually find a way to vomit. Warm tears blurred his vision, still throwing high contrast after images around everything that moved. He shook his head violently, still unable to take a step.

"Just enjoy the show, Roomba." Aj snickered in a self satisfied way that made Raizen want to crush his skull. Under miles of pointed rage, he recognized the sound of tires screeching off the highway. Somebody was coming. Any minute now, he expected to hear the shouts of humans dying in a symphony of suffering. This stoked the flames inside him higher, burning away every merciful impulse the android ever had in his short life. He snarled sadistically, feeling his pupils contract to pin points as a visceral psychosis settled over him. All that power, with nowhere to go, thrummed through him instead. 

Raizen was shocked into silence as he realized he was looking into Gavin's furious gray eyes. Twin pools of mercury hardened into steel beams as understanding swept over her. For the most terrible moment he could ever remember having, his heart shattered in his chest. She was awake, and Aj was shoving his whole tongue down her throat. Something tangible in her expression snapped painfully into place. Recognition. 

_Motherfucker...._

Aj was screaming into her mouth, his body thrashing wildly at the first sickening thrush sound of Gavin's teeth sinking into his tongue. She was growling as she turned her eyes on her prey, her own body shuddering. Aj swung a fist into her face, she flinched and bit harder. 

His pain was cathartic to the android. Gavin was tearing the bastards tongue out. Even as weak as she was in this moment, she was a spirit of pure vengeance. Raizen couldn't help the memory that surfaced. Connor's voice came to him in perfect recollection.

" _She is unbelievably powerful."_

Yes. Clearly he was just as guilty as nearly everyone else of underestimating Gavin fucking Reed. Here she was, caring nothing for herself. She would happily die for the chance to inflict harm. Another fist slammed hard into her cheek. She whimpered, tears squeezing from her eyes, and she bit harder.

Raizen could swear he heard it the moment her teeth clicked together, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. Gavin locked her jaw, jerking her head violently away, taking the offending item with her. As Aj's body hit the floor, screaming, a fountain of blood pouring from his mouth, Raizen heard the unmistakable shouting from outside. He didn't dare take his eyes off Gavin. She gave a feral smile, unlocking her jaw to flash bloody teeth. Her tongue lolled over her lips, dripping red as she panted in savage glee. Where was it? Had she swallowed it? 

" _Gavin_!? RAIZEN!" Connor screamed, his voice sounding as unhinged as expected.   
____

_This must be what hell smells like._

_Blood and gasoline and shit._

Humans had a bad habit of over reaching with their limited combat capacity. Something that had always made Connor cringe internally, trying not to think of all the ways he could hurt someone during an interview, or holding back to keep from killing a suspect by accident.

He felt no such compulsion now, his eyes easily tracking the bullets path as it flew to it's target, tearing through flesh and blood and bone. The man went down before he'd fully turned and Connor was moving. The snow barely crunched under his feet. He could feel Hank somewhere behind him. He turned back to the older human. 

"Clear?" He said simply. 

Hank waved him forward. "I'm good, go!"

Connor nodded curtly, and vanished into the shadows like a wraith that Hank was pretty sure he'd had a nightmare about once.  
\----  
The screams behind Raizen died as the men did, as his traitorous body was still resolutely rooted. He felt as though his entire being was folded in on itself stuck inside his head. He couldn't feel his limbs. Though it was entirely psychological, he wished he could stretch. "Gav?" He asked softly over the gentle keening of Aj on the floor, rolling abounding holding his mouth. Blood seeped through his fingers and around the edges of his hand. 

Gavin fixed her gaze upon the android, and the predator in her features grinned silently back at him. Her lips pulled back wider, exposing more teeth. She turned her rapturous eyes back to man bleeding on the floor and coughed up a massive amount of blood at his feet. Her body jerked on the cross, but she never looked away. Raizen felt like he might be having a religious experience. Broken down to her most basic survival instincts, Gavin was unbelievably, torturously _beautiful_.   
____  
There was so much noise, Gavin had to concentrate to isolate what exactly she was hearing. Her mouth was so hot, it was enough to make her want to skinny dip in the snow face first. Shapes flew in wild patterns around her, clawing at the surface of the water she was submerged in. The tension was reluctant to break.

" _Baby please_!" The sweet voice called to her. Connor...

" _Snap out of it!"_ Raizen? Was he here? Where was she? Where was here? Gavin wanted to shake her head, but nothing moved, and the water got deeper.

" _What the fuck is this?_!" Someone cried. " _What's happened to her!?_ " Choking broken sobs muffled by miles of water. The waves reached and fell overhead but she wasn't drowning. 

Something too close screamed in the dark. Something crunched. In her mind, she heard the claws and fangs of a large jungle cat scraping and crushing the bones below the flesh of their prey. The unknown animal's fearful cries collasped into gurgled chokes. The growls vibrated the water in her lungs, but she was not afraid. 

" _Gavin please hold on._.."

What a strange request. Hold onto what? There was nothing here. She wasn't even sure she was here. 

After all, where was _here_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 chapters left to go! How are we feeling?


	12. Let it be spoken, let it be screamed: They'll never ever take us alive.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe it's all down to the thought of her.  
> Maybe it's all down to the loss we learned.  
> Knew for a long time, for all it's worth.  
> I wanted to run to you.  
> What if I'm caught up and it's me you're calling?  
> What if I'm lost now 'cause of demons comin'.  
> When she kissed me, I felt a new freedom or something.  
> Well, move on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wrapping up! Next chap, epilogue!

☆☆☆☆

6 weeks later, and still she moved through the shadows of her world like they were an alien planet. Every turn held the potential for a trap. Every thought was unspeakable. Every movement was indecisive. She flinched her way through her days, stomach bottoming out, even the most mundane expected things made her jump. She was afraid of her own shadow, and theirs. The androids that hovered about, closing ranks around her to defend their wounded. They were the walls that closed in. For anybody else, she imagined this would be a discomfort, but she found herself hiding at their backs, happy to skirt every interaction with minimal contact. Anxiety rode her hard and put her away wet. 

This inability to function had ultimately led to decision to leave the DPD. 

"Are you sure this is what you want? We could get you counseling." Jeff asked again. His eyes crinkled with a kind smile. Gavin took a deep breath, touching the tips of her fingers with her thumbnail in a sequential rhythm before she squared her shoulders and let the breath out slowly. 

"I'm sure." She said, keeping her face forward. Connor and Raizen stood in her periphery, each nodding minutely, faces serene."There's things I want to accomplish, and I see now that law enforcement is not going to get me to those goals." It was true, no matter how much it hurt to say out loud. She'd used her time to consider what direction she wanted her life to take, and after having legally died no less than 3 times, she decided she'd paid whatever debt was owed to the universe. She wanted balance, and she owed it to herself now to achieve it.

Jeff nodded sadly, his fingers interlaced on the top of his desk. How many times had she had her ass in this chair and been chewed out or reassigned? This chair was where her journey had started, it was only right that it end here as well. "I'll have HR draw up the papers, then." He sighed, eyes glossy. "Won't be the same without you, Reed."

"It's Kamski." She said without hesitation. 

Jeff looked stunned. "Pardon?"

"My _name._ It's Gabriella Kamski." She smiled sheepishly, shrugging. It was time to lay Gavin Reed to rest. She wanted to reclaim who she'd been before Tyler Donovan had sent her down a path. "It's not official yet, but I'm trying to get used to it again."

Jeff beamed, "Well alright." He shook his head. "Never thought I'd see this day."

"None of us did." It was Connor who spoke, voice solemn as the grave. 

"What does this mean for you two?" Jeff asked the androids, the creases in his face deepening, threatening a frown at the edges.

Connor stepped forward first, hands clasped at his back, looking relaxed in a white dress shirt tucked into black slacks with a black embroidered vest, sleeves rolled meticulously up to his elbows. "I've never been anything but this, and I think I'd like to try my hand at something new." He said confidently. "Call it an adventure." He added, winking down at Gavin. Her answering blush was lovely.

Connor would follow Gavin to the ends of the earth, to the edge of the universe if need be. Jeff expected nothing less than complete and utter devotion, and though it was a disappointment to lose such a talented man in his ranks, he admired the android's heart. "I figured as much. Does Hank know he's losing his partner?"

Connor smiled sadly. After he'd found Gavin and Raizen in that warehouse, the shape they were in, the rage had been so _visceral_ he'd given no second thought to dismemberment. He broke Aj apart like breaking a child's toy. It had been far too easy to justify committing violent murder, and the android had learned he was not above such impulses. He never wanted to feel that way, or go that far ever again. "We've discussed it. He's not happy, but he understands my reasons." There was no way to prove which android had killed Aj, and none of the androids present that night were talking. With their personhood fully realized by law, it was illegal to probe their memories under the 5th amendment. They couldn't be forced to incriminate themselves. It was widely believed the man had fallen victim to his own hubris, and had died as a result of self defense. Nobody wanted to look further into it. Were Connor human, he'd have fidgeted in discomfort. Instead he stood straight, his lovely face a mask of serenity.

Jeff was mumbling something to himself, appearing satisfied with the android's reasoning or not wanting to push. "Okay, Connor." He said, drumming his fingers on the desk. "What about you?" He indicated Raizen with a tip of his head in the tall android's direction.

Raizen cleared his throat even though he didn't need to, standing a little taller. "I have decided to stay." He ran a hand through his hair as Gavin shrank a little in her seat. He wanted to reach out and lay a comforting hand on her her shoulder, but his body stayed perfectly straight. It had been an argument when he'd expressed his need to remain with the DPD, even knowing that Gavin and Connor would leave the area in search of their next endeavor. He'd only mitigated a meltdown by promising it wouldn't be forever. There were still things he wanted to do in Detroit, even if it meant being temporarily separated from her. "So I guess Hank will be needing a new android." He added, clicking his tongue against his teeth.

Jeff snorted. "Yes, I suppose you're right."   
____  
Gavin took the last mouthful of beer from the bottle as she avoided looking directly at Markus. Eye contact was not something she could manage just yet, even with Connor squeezing her knee under the table in encouragement.

"Your resolve here is really something, but I have to question if this move is what's best for you, personally. This life is not easy." Of course he was referring to activism. Gavin and Connor had learned that androids all over the country were still being abused, oppressed and murdered. She wanted to save every single one she could and send them here to Jericho or north to Rose, who was famous among synthetic lifeforms as a sort of savoir. She would have no badge, and no jurisdiction, but bottomless resources thanks to Elijah and Cyberlife. They were now privately contracted paramilitary operatives.

Gavin sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'd rather die young than know the price of my long life came at the cost of even one android." She said softly but fervently, ignoring Connor's grimacing beside her.

"We would never ask for such a trade. No one life is worth more than another." Simon, always kind and soft spoken chimed in as he came to take the seat beside Markus, across from Connor. "You deserve peace. No one would begrudge you that." He briefly trailed the back of his long fingers down the side of Markus's face, and they both took a long, deep breath at the contact before leveling Gavin's world with their gazes. 

She adjusted her position, forcing herself to look each one in the eyes before dropping hers back to the table. "I know you wouldn't. This is my fight now, and I can't ride off into the sunset knowing not everyone is getting their sunset too." She flashed a look at Connor, who's smile was conspiratorial. "We're doing this with or without your blessing, Markus but it would be better for everyone if we worked together." She said firmly. "...and I'll try not to die." She added after a beat of silence.

The 3 androids regarded each other for a long time, to Gavin's human ears they were stone silent. 

Markus spoke first, ending the stalemate. "It would appear we are in agreement." Simon bristled beside him, but didn't comment. Working with Cyberlife after all they'd done during the revolution must've been a slap in the face, but something told her he was more or less offended by her obvious disregard for the value of her own life. He'd had to fight so hard for his, she could understand why it was an affront. 

"Good. We'll be in touch once we get settled." Connor said, standing in unison with the other two. He ignore Gavin's whispered " _Fucking vampires_." And added. "Thank you."  
____  
Tina had been crying for over 10 minutes and Gavin had to fight not to make a joke about flooding her apartment. Instead she held her distraught friend in her arms as they sat together on Gavin's couch. "Everything is going to be _okay_ , Tina." Gavin tried again to reassure her. The woman had been through so much on Gavin's behalf lately. She wailed louder in protest. 

Officially Gavin was leaving on an extended vacation, making no promise to return or not in the future, depending on what she found while out in the world and of course, Connor was going with her. Nobody besides Raizen and a handful of Androids at Jericho knew the clandestine nature of their true intentions. Of course Elijah knew, he was instrumental to putting them in touch with the right people, and the right equipment. She didn't miss the look of sympathy that passed like storm clouds across Connor's features as he picked up Omen where the animal sat at her feet. He hugged the cat gently to his chest, eyes misty with unshed tears. Omen purred at Connor's voice, whispering encouragements into his fur. They would miss him more than life itself. He would stay here with Raizen, and eventually they would all be reunited, if they lived that long. When Gavin really took a moment to consider it all, the prospect of a reunion down the road, no matter how sweet, was no comfort at all. They were (for all intents and purposes) going off to wage war across America for as long as they could. It was a sobering reality that she and Connor's lives might be forfeit. 

"We'll keep in touch as much as we can." Gavin said, patting soothing circles over Tina's back. The taller woman sniffled heavily, and finally by the grace of God, sat up. 

"You'd fuckin better." She said through her stuffy nose. She didn't read the reason behind Gavin's cringe. It was better this way, Gavin reminded herself. Tina jumped to her feet, startling Omen out of Connor's arms and earning a bemused smile from the android. "Let's go to the bar!" She cheered, and Gavin couldn't help but laugh.

Gavin hopped up too. She could indulge her friend one last time.  
____  
"I think y'all are crazy for doing this." Hank said without preamble as soon as Connor opened the door. The android huffed softly and made a beeline for Sumo. He didn't want to lie, and so had resolved to say as little as possible instead. The massive dog greeted him with a happy yip, and Connor tried not to think it was their last time together. "You all packed up then?" Hank asked from the table where he was setting about some paperwork. 

Connor nodded. "Yes, we just finished tonight." This he could answer honestly. He felt no relief. 

"Mmm, and you swear you're not just sneaking off to get married?" It was the first time Hank had expressed this aloud. He laughed when Connor openly gaped at him.

"Well now that you mention it..." it wasn't a bad idea. He smiled easily at the human, teasing. Connor would cherish the mental imaging of Theo's face if he married Gavin without permission. The thought alone gave the android such a deep vindictive sense of pleasure he almost moaned while petting the dog, managing to bite his tongue at the last moment but unable to keep his eyes from rolling back in his head.

Hank chortled. "You having an orgasm over there, Con?" The man missed nothing.

Connor laughed, moving to his feet smoothly. "Almost." He shrugged, crossing the short distance to the kitchen and seated himself across from the older man. 

" _Gross_." Hank said, pulling his reading glasses he'd never admit to needing off his face. 

Connor wanted to remember him this way. Cracking jokes, in good spirits and drinking tea instead of whiskey.   
____  
Raizen leaned against the counter as Gavin cooked. He watched with interest as she alternated between tending to the food and sipping the open beer she had on the counter next to her, humming. 

"I can just leave this to simmer a while." She said finally, placing a top on the pot. She turned and immediately walked into the android's arms, already stretched out for her. He pressed a desperate kiss to her hair. 

"I don't know how I'm going to live without you." He said, taking a shuddering breath. He'd made so many mistakes, all part of the human condition, even if one was something more. Gavin squeezed him, keeping him grounded. 

She mercifully didn't mention again it was his choice to stay, and that choice had caused immeasurable pain to her and Connor. Instead she hugged him tighter, holding back the sob caught in her chest. "You know nothing on earth could keep me from you." She half whimpered it, a confession both fragile and indestructible. A promise that no matter what, she would be with him again. 

Gentle fingers threaded through he hair, tipping her head back. No time to think, or consider what the bittersweet contact would destroy in it's wake. She should stop him, but no protest came to mind.

.. _.and he was kissing her._  
____  
"You ready for this?" Connor's voice was a siren pulling Gavin back to her center of gravity. The papers were all signed, they were no longer part of the DPD, or legal residents of the apartment they now stood in the doorway of. The car was packed, and across the 5 foot chasm they faced Raizen and Elijah, shoulder to shoulder. Raizen was crying. 

"Not really." She said, allowing her fear to break through. 

Her brother stepped forward, pulling her into a hug. She went happily into his arms. "You can do anything Gabs. My people are going to take care of you." He looked over her at Connor. "There's a Chloe at the compound, she's agreed to help you both acclimate. She goes by Medusa." 

Connor hated Elijah with a passion, but he was grudgingly grateful to him too. Without Elijah, there was no existence for any android. How did one go about getting around a grudge against God? He nodded tersely, turning to Raizen. "I don't know why you're not coming with us, and I can't say I respect your choice." He reached out pulling Gavin back against his chest by her shoulders, feeling them sag at his harsh reminder that they were incomplete. 

"But...?" Raizen prompted, hoping Connor wasn't about to leave it like that. 

"No." He said, frowning. 

Shame flooded Raizen. They really felt like he was abandoning them. He stumbled forward, landing on his knees at Gavin's feet. "Please...forgive me.." he didn't know if he was begging. He didn't know if he deserved their ire, but he loathed himself for it. "I'm sorry."

The most powerful android on the planet was floored because of her. Gavin wasn't ready to let go. She stepped forward and cradled his beautiful face in her hands, cooing gently through tears. "It's not _forever_ baby." She echoed his words back to him, unsure how to tread such deep water. "Be good, Zen. We love you." 

His eyes met hers, then Connor's. The wide open sky, the bitter sea, and the warm earth. They belonged together. Connor nodded affirmation. They loved him. They were heartbroken. His HUD was silent and still, reflecting nothing of the turmoil that writhed inside him. Sparks ricocheted in his chest. "I will. I love you both. _So much._ " He sobbed, feeling emotions his programs had no names for. Her touch invoked such a strong feeling of home he felt his life ripping away as she dropped her hands. 

Gavin was vibrating, resonating with the androids in the room. She turned her hawkish glare to Elijah. "Take care of him. I want him back in one piece." She squared her shoulders. Elijah grinned sheepishly. 

" _Relax_. Everything is gonna be fine. He's going to help me with a few things and then he's free to come out there and join the underground railroad or whatever." Elijah flinched when Connor scoffed.

"He was always free, and I will drop everything I'm doing in a heartbeat to come back here and retrieve him if I need to." Connor's voice was icy and seething. "Pray that doesn't become necessary."

Connor remembered promising Elijah once it would be a mistake for them to ever meet again, and the android still meant every hateful syllable. 

Gavin rolled her eyes. "Let's get this fucking show on the road, shall we?" Her patience was at it's regrettable end.

She and Connor turned toward the hall. Toward the future. Toward the unknown. She glanced back one last time, meeting Raizen's teary-eyed gaze. Her lips twitched into a smirk that was 100% Gavin. 

"I'll see you soon, love."


	13. You'd Better Stop The Sweet Talk, And Keep That Pretty Mouth Shut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You always fold just before you're found out  
> Drink up it's last call last resort  
> But only the first mistake and I  
> I'm two quarters and a heart down  
> And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds  
> These words are all I have so I write them  
> So you need them just to get by  
> Why don't you show me a little bit of spine  
> You've been saving for his mattress, love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end. I loved writing this and I hope you all enjoyed it.

_< 2 years later>_

The sun was peaking over the lush green trees and Gabi hadn't slept in 24 hours. She stood on the balcony, alternating her gaze between the scenery and the road leading up to the compound. The place was more alive today than was normal at this hour. People were excited, as they should be. It was a big day for the children of the revolution. 

"Good morning Gabriella!" Medusa was waving high over her head from below. "I put some coffee on for my favorite human!" She called, beaming up at her. Gabi had grown very fond of the former Chloe. After countless hours spent with their heads together planning, or back to back fighting for android rights, the two had become nearly inseparable. 

Medusa was fun, but shrewd and ruthlessly efficient. She'd nearly single handedly built this compound from the ground up, bringing in humans and androids from all over the country with one ideal in mind: _equal rights for all._

The world had gone crazy at just the right time, and the leverage it provided the movement to prop the proverbial door open was undeniably advantageous. They were hours away from securing marriage equality and reproductive rights. Cyberlife was on board, ready to start in facilities all over the country, already fully staffed, just waiting for Warren to sign the legislation. They'd all bled for this for 2 hard years, and now the sunrise was the most beautiful she'd ever seen. Gabi grinned down at her friend. "I'll be down shortly." She called back. She wanted to meet the new group that had come in during the night, anyway. 

"You should be sleeping more." Connor's disapproval was heavier than usual, but she brushed it off anyway. She would sleep tonight, since Connor was staying with her. 

"There's still so much to do." Gabi countered, chewing her lip thoughtfully, leaning over the stone the railing.

Connor appeared beside her silently. She was too tired to startle, so she hissed instead, low and threatening. "Don't start something you can't finish, Con." She growled when his fingers skated under the hem of her shirt to trace her spine. It was far too early for such amorous behavior. 

His trilling laugh was her favorite. It was the most genuine. "I am in no danger of not being able to finish." He told her with a salacious grin. 

Gabi huffed petulantly. She should have read the challenge in his eyes. Maybe she was dead on her feet. She shrugged. " _Bite me._ " 

Connor rolled his eyes, scooping the small woman into a warm hug. "You're too tense." He accused.

Gabi wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. "Maybe." She conceded, sort of. Heat bloomed heavy in her chest when his teeth grazed the shell of her ear. 

"Let me help." He offered.

Oh but she would love that. He could take her to bed and handle her, leaving her sated and sore. She could finally sleep. Carefully she disengaged, shaking her head. She had things to do today. "Later." One word held so much promise, Connor gave a boyish smile and her heart fluttered in her chest. 

"It's a date." He said, casually leaning on the rail with an easy smile on his lovely face.

Gabi moved through the room, and took the steps two at a time. She could smell the coffee and was anxious to caffeinate. Connor came down behind her, ending up in a hushed discussion with one of their team, a pretty young girl who's name Gabi could never remember. She blushed, batting her eyelashes as Connor spoke.

"He's got another fan." Medusa said teasingly as she slid up beside Gabi, who was studiously watching the exchange with amusement as she sipped from her mug. 

"I think it's sweet." Gabi mumbled into her cup, ignoring Medusa's guffaw. It was sweet. Misguided, and ultimately a waste of the girl's time, but still sweet. She was young, and had seen more than her share of trauma. It was natural to gravitate to a strong leader. Gabi felt nothing but warmth. Of all the men she could crush on, she could do worse than Connor by a long shot. 

"You would." Medusa scoffed playfully. 

Periodically, the tall android's eyes would wander away from the girl talking his ear off at the foot of the stairs and meet Gabi's. They were warm and chagrined. He'd bent forward to hear her better. Gabi could read the desire to close the distance on the girls face and was hit with a wave of sympathy. 

"I thought all humans got jealous." Medusa said, tugging on Gabi's sleeve. "Let's go chat up the new kids."

Human emotions were complicated, it was true. But Gabi had nothing to be jealous of. Not that she would begrudge Connor another woman, should he want one, but she knew he didn't, and probably never would. "Not _this_ human." 

Gabi turned on her heel after one last pointed look at Connor's expense and followed Medusa through a low stone corridor and out to the courtyard. The place was absolutely buzzing. It made her feel warm. 

Medusa led her down the hill the main building was on to a portable they'd set up only last week. The low drone of conversation hushed as she entered. Everyone was dirty, showing the strain of their journey in the lines of their faces. Everyone was unharmed, aside for one, who's skin was stained blue from a gash on his forehead.

Gabi addressed him first. "What's your name?" She asked, stepping further into the room. 

"Tristan, ma'am." Such manners. Typical PL600. It was hard to remember she wasn't looking at Simon whenever she met one. 

"You're in the right place. We're going to get that looked at." She said, smiling kindly. Her voice was gentle, concerned. She'd had to work on that. She was just as likely to spook an android as comfort it.

All the faces around her turned like a flock of birds to the door as it opened and Connor stepped through. They regarded him with open awe. Gabi had to fight to keep her expression from slipping into something smug. 

"You're late." She chided, poking a finger into his rib plates. 

Connor briefly touched her face before dropping his hand and turning to the group. A few openly reacted to his casual touch of a human. "I'm sorry I didn't get to formally introduce myself last night." He inclined his head to them.

"We _know_ who you are." A small female said, standing at the front. She held her chin up, defiantly. She would be the leader, then.

Connor held his hands up. "I know you all have been through more than your share of trouble, and it's hard to believe anyone wants to help you, but we do." He said kindly. "You can stay as long as you like. If anyone needs help getting somewhere, we can do that too. You're free."

They shared glances for a few moments. Some of them looked like cornered animals wanting to bolt at the first opportunity. 

The small female must've felt Connor and Medusa were simply optics. Her gaze settled on Gabi. "How can we trust an organization run by a human?" Fair question. Gabi pursed her lips. Her reputation was not entirely a good one. "How do we know you're not just another master?"

Connor hissed loudly, the vibration shook the walls of the tiny building. "What makes you think she's running things?" Another fair question. In all reality she was the optic for public consumption. It was easier to swallow the group as a whole with a human at the helm, but in reality, this was Medusa's baby. 

"Are you not?" Another asked, a tall man in the back. His arm was draped posessively over the female in front of him. 

Gabi shook her head slowly. "I'm not. In any case, you're free. Stay, go. Whatever you want to do. Nobody will stop you. A word of advice though, if you stay," she turns her eyes back to the leader. "Show some fucking respect." 

Medusa stepped forward then, cutting off any would be reply. "My name is Medusa. That's Gabriella Kamski, and Connor Anderson. They run the ops, like the one that brought you all here. They're the front line that's saving our asses in the field. They're in the big house up the hill. If you need anything, you can find them there. Otherwise come to me and I will see to your needs."

"Kamski, as in the maker?" Tristan's shock was palpable. 

Gabi nodded. "Elijah is my brother. He provided us with all we have here, so that we could help you, and many others."  
____

_I looked for your name on the Ouija board,_  
_And you're making magic, oh dear lord._

Gabi flopped onto her bed with a huff, that turned into the world's most overstated yawn.

"Think you could open your mouth any wider?" Connor teased as he stepped into the room from the bathroom with wet hair and a towel wrapped low around his hips. Fuck, he was beautiful. For a moment she seriously considered trying to open her mouth wider just to spite him. She ogled him a moment, metting her eyes wander over the lines and planes of his body with rapt devotion, before responding. 

"Suck my dick." She grinned. Brilliant. Comedy gold over here.

Connor rolled his eyes, then flashed a grin. "You first." 

Gabi rolled out of the bed, deftly avoiding Connor as he reached for her. "Things to do, Tinman."

She laughed hard in her chest, Connor planting his fists on his hips was adorable. He growled deep enough to vibrate her bones. 

"Can you think of nothing else?" She scolded, pulling her hair up into a bun and avoiding looking at him lounging on the bed like some kind of sex god. 

"Not at the moment." He admitted in a sultry tone. It was reasonable to be so ready. They'd been so busy running ops they barely got any down time. For two years, they been living on the edge, pushing for full equality, rescuing and shepherding lost and abused androids. Trying to save as many as they could, and grow their numbers. Elijah had proven himself an ally, no matter how much Connor hated him.

Gabi was finally used to her name, which was legally changed back to her birth name a week after their exodus from Detroit. Very few people even knew who Gavin Reed was. She was hoping to take Hank's last name soon, if it was all the same to him, but Connor hadn't asked her again, and he'd promised one day he would, when he could ask her for real. She was waiting, however impatiently. 

She turned to Connor, losing the playful atmosphere. "Have you heard from Zen, or Hank?" She couldn't help the fear that rang heavy in her ears. It echoed through her voice.

Connor frowned. "You'd know if I had." Hank had been pissed when he found out what they'd really left Detroit to do. The excuse of plausible deniability did not pacify him. He called less after that, and Connor hoped he hadn't done permanent damage to their friendship. He did, after all, have Hank's last name. They were family. Gabi had rather rudely congratulated him on being a disappointment, until he reminded her Hank was pissed at her too. She'd shrugged it off at the time, and said he should get used to feeling this way. It was the only kind of relationship she'd ever had with her family, and of course he knew deep down she missed them more than she could admit. He'd noted the way her pulse jumped whenever Raizen was the subject of discussion. Feelings that at one time were warm and pleasant had soured into sharp anxiety and a sense of profound loss. She still mourned their sacrifices.

She shrugged helplessly. "I had to ask."

He ran his long fingers through his hair. "I know." Some days he really wanted to go back to Detroit just to put a bullet in his brother's brain, if only to assuage the wretched misery he saw on her face whenever she thought of him. She'd accomplished so much. She'd transformed. Gavin Reed was gone, a phoenix burned to beautiful ashes and what had risen was undeniably powerful. She was leaner, lithe and dark. Black waves of ebony cascaded down to the small of her back in gentle waves that were so rarely set free. Her eyes were a hurricane on rough seas, always stormy and so deep Connor often felt like he was falling into them. She had long abandoned the baggy clothes and the hoodie she'd clung to for security. Now favoring things that compliment her small body, and utilitarian to the extreme. "Practicality rules" She'd once said.

"What about Elijah?" Connor asked cautiously, rolling to his feet and moving to the dresser. He began digging through the drawers with abandon. 

Gabi chewed her lip a moment. "I spoke with him yesterday." 

Connor smirked as he found the items he was looking for, pulling black utility pants from the mess inside. "And?" He prompted, pulling on a gray pair of boxer briefs.

Gabi paced a moment. "He was...very positive. Apparently Zen was an anomaly, since he hadn't deviated from a command program. They seem to have figured out how to deliver on Android reproduction without having to traumatize the unit and force the transition." She sniffed, rolling her eyes skyward. "No command program means being born free."

Connor paused, leaving his pants unbuttoned. "Son of a bitch." He half scoffed, half laughed. 

Gabi giggled, a hysterical edge to her voice made it wobble. "I know." The implications were staggering but she couldn't focus on that right now. 

She was rubbing her thumb down the scar in her palm, feeling the tendons react sluggishly to the stimuli as she failed to focus her eyes or mind on any one thing. 

Connor was there, pulling her lip gently from between her teeth where she'd trapped it with her worry. He smoothed his fingers like feather kisses across her cheekbones. He grounded and challenged the storm in her eyes. "Breathe baby." He commanded softly, pulling her focus to his lips. Had she been holding her breath? 

She didn't know, or care. She threw her arms around her android's neck, pulling him in to the kiss he was asking for, and, ohh...he was kissing her. Breathing life into her lungs. Pushing white hot sparks across her tongue that felt like holding a firecracker between her teeth. She was one human on the shoulders of giants. 

"We've never discussed what comes after all this." She sighed as they broke apart. "There has to be more." More life, for her, for Connor, for androids and humans everywhere. 

He pulled her toward the bed, and this time she let him.

______

_If your stomach is feeling weak, my work here is done._

"Get your asses down here! It's starting!" Medusa was yelling up the stairs, voice crackling with excited static pops.

Gabi was rushing to get her clothes back on. The dead-on-her-feet, bone weary exhaustion evaporated in an instant. Connor was just getting his button done when he froze.

Connor's eyes lit from the inside, a harsh orange light fired in his pupils and then he turn on a full kilowatt smile and grabbed Gabi's hand. "Lets go." He said, towing her down the stairs behind him. She went happily, giggling. He hadn't even bothered to put on a shirt.

They could already hear Warren's voice coming over the tv as they carefully weaved through the crowd of androids and humans gathered to watch.

_"Today I am proud to announce new legislation that not only secures the rights of our android friends and neighbors to live free but to love freely as well. Any android may now marry, either another android or a human with full support and recognition from our United States Government. Furthermore facilities, headed up and staffed by none other than Elijah Kamski are standing by for word from Jericho, to begin assisting in android development and reproduction. Any violence will be dealt with swiftly and to the full extent of the law. These people are our responsibility, and our allies. They will have our respect, so help me God."_

3 seconds of stunned silence was followed by a roar of approval from the room. Deafening cheers, hugs and shouts of jubilant cathartic victory. Connor's fingers were in her hair, tilting her head back, lips pressed quivering and wet with tears against hers. His joy echoed hers, the jarring bursting wave of pure bliss that crashed inside her. They all cried. They all laughed. 

The room around them vanished in a wisp of smoke, leaving not ruin, but hope. For a blissfully oblivious moment, they were all there ever was. The beginning and end of everything stretching impossibility wide between the bodies that couldn't get closer without being consumed, but oh they _tried_. 

______

_Help me? You left me in a black hole of rage and confusion._

_< 3 days later>_

"Gabi?" Medusa called from midway up the stairs. It was late, and the android could sense the human was in the room with Connor. She didn't want to interrupt. The two had finally taken time to rest, and Gabriella had slept for 24 hours, nearly consecutively. 

Connor appeared like a ghost at the top, looking very much the part of defensive alpha before his face softened to something in the neighborhood of friendly. He jealousy guarded his human's rest. She was, after all, not a machine. "What do you need?" His subvocalized question was still borderline hostile, and it stabbed sharply at Medusa's ears. She hated when he used the double timbre.

Wringing her hands in front of her, she let her chin jut out. "There's a man and...an android at the gate asking for her. They're from Detroit." The "he looks like you" wasn't spoken but he'd heard it just the same.

Moonlight streamed through the open balcony, lighting up Connor like a nightmare. His eyes bent the light, a perfect predator in the dark. He decended the stairs, barely dressed. "Thank you, I'll handle it from here." He murmured as he passed her.

He moved swiftly down the path, not needing to pace himself to human speeds. It felt good to really run. The forest around him quieted as he passed through it, wary of the way he flew to the target.

Hank leaned patiently against the hood of his old cutlass, arms crossed loosely across his broad chest. He looked well. The lines of his face were a little deeper, his hair a little thinner. Connor's thirium pump stuttered with joy at the sight. 

"Someone's coming." He heard Raizen say to Hank. The human wouldn't be able to see him yet. 

Connor rounded the last corner hard, throwing up a cloud of dust as he jerked to a stop on bare feet. "Fancy meeting you here." He said sounding far more casual that he felt. His damnable brother looked more at ease than he had a right to.

Hank frowned, waving his hand through the dust. "Nice." He grumbled. "Where's-?"

"She's finally getting some sleep. Much deserved I'd say." His words were daggers pointed at the tall android at Hank's side, who stared dispassionately back. 

"You gonna let us in or what?" Hank barked to cover a laugh.

Connor's mutinous heart did not want to open the gate. He toyed briefly with several ideas, that got progressively more violent as they went. He sighed, pressing his hand to the electronic lock and briefly interfaced with it. It hummed softly, then disengaged.

"She's been through enough." He growled as the men stepped through. 

"We're not here to upset her." Raizen said softly, distracted, Connor missed Hank's draw back.

//PROXIMITY WARNING ⚠️//

Connor jerked his head back at inhuman speed, feeling the air displaced by Hank's meaty fist as he caught it in one hand. The power behind it felt like nothing at all to the android. He could've let it connect and sustained no damage, but through years of combat, was no longer inclined to take one for the team. He snarled menacingly. 

"Explain." He commanded, subvocalizing hostility. 

Hank withdrew, his breaths heavy, his face flushed. Connor could taste the perspiration in the air. 

"You have no idea what we went through when you two decided to up and vanish like a fart in the wind!" His face was severe, and Connor knew he deserved every ounce of the man's ire. "We thought you'd finally found some happiness! We thought you were fucking coming back! You're a couple of selfish assholes!" 

Connor nodded. "We did what we had to do. She was going to die up there. Staying would've killed her as surely as a bullet. It was just a matter of time, Hank." He shot a murderous glare at Raizen, who finally twitched in acknowledgement. 

Raizen eyes were fixed on the road leading up to the main house. "Does she still sing?" What an odd question. Mentally he shook it off, though he was unable to shake the sudden onset of anxiety to be so close to the woman his heart had forgotten. 

Hank decided to step in as they walked together, offering context the android was clearly missing when Connor's face turned dangerously close to violence. "While he was with Eli, Raizen was reset, the chemical bond was removed. He said it was too painful or something."

The world around them faded to grayscale emptiness as he jerked his brother to a stop by the arm, bringing Hank up short too. The knot forming in his chest ached so profoundly Connor had to take a breath to steady himself. "Removed?" Was all he could say. It was an accusation. How could he do such a thing and then ever come into her orbit again? "Do you have any inclination what it's going to do to her when she finds out the man she's been missing for 2 fucking years doesn't love her anymore?!" He snarled as he turned, shoving Raizen back down the path towards the car. "Are you trying to kill her!? I don't suppose it matters to you anymore!" Connor's vision was bleeding red.

"Brother please, I would never hurt her." He begged. Allowing himself to be shoved again. "Please!" 

"Stop!" 

It was her. It was always her. Connor froze. Lips curling over his teeth as he hissed, looking positively feral. She would've heard the entire exchange.

"He made his choice, Con. We all did. Let it go." She said softly, grief saturating her voice.

"Hey kid." Hank said, pulling her into a hug. She had missed his hugs. She didn't have to fake enthusiasm to hug the man back. 

"I'm sorry, Hank." She sniffled into his shoulder. He patted her back soothingly.

From the open car door, Omen meowed in agitation, not wanting to step in the dirt. "Get out here fat shit." Gabi barked with a laugh as the feline squealed and ran to her.

"Find them a place to stay, gently please. Then come to bed." Connor didn't argue. He bit his tongue, nails digging into his palms until thirium dripped from his shaking fists into the dirt, and she was gone, ghosting back up into the compound with the fluffy beast at her heel. Her poise was admirable. She finally moved like the queen she was. It was only by that grace Connor didn't immediately throw Raizen back out the gate. He stalked up a side path, seething.

"Follow me." 

______

_Write me off, give up on me_  
_Cause darling what did you expect_  
_I'm just off, a lost cause_  
_A long shot, don't even take this bet_

_You can make all the moves, you can aim all the spotlights_  
_Get all the sighs and the moans just right_

_I'm sleeping on your folk's porch again, dreaming_  
_She said, she said, she said, "Why don't you just drop dead?"_

_I don't blame you for being you_  
_But you can't blame me for hating it._

There were a lot of sound minds in this organizations. Raizen was throughly impressed by the cohesive atmosphere and general ease with which everyone seemed to move even with such proximity. He'd met humans and androids alike around campfires and in meetings that laughed with and embraced each other. They encouraged ideas, heads low and close, pressed into tight spaces with no signs of discomfort. It was a glimpse of how the world should be. It had not been his experience in Detroit. 

The city was a writhing, seething portrait of the mile long list of differences between the species, and as was human nature, a vast unquenchable need to dominate and destroy every soul in the "other" category. For being nearly immortal, an android's average lifespan was devastatingly short. In the 7 days he'd spent with the children of the revolution, Raizen almost believed they could change things.

But then he'd remember that Gabi was avoiding him, and he'd lose whatever hope he'd mustered up. He wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to be next to her, not like before. Nothing like that. There was however a sensation he couldn't put his finger on whenever he saw her, and it was driving him insane. 

He remembered everything about her in perfect detail, but those memories felt as though they were of a different person. She'd always been strong and beautiful in an understated way. Gavin Reed was resilient, but insecure. She held so much of herself back, even from those she was close to. 

Gabriella Kamski was unbound, lean, confident and terrifying. She did everything with purpose, and a ferocity that frankly was mildly frustrating. 

There was also, of course, the matter of Connor. He was always there, orbiting in her gravitation. Not that Raizen wanted to be alone with her, per se, but even if he did, Connor was ever present, moving in her shadow. And that too, was frustrating. He wanted to bridge the gap and make things right between the 3 of them, if ever such a thing were possible. 

"She's amazing, right?" Tristan said, poking Raizen in the ribs. 

He'd been watching her like a hawk across the the courtyard, teaching a group of androids how to appear human. He'd been caught staring. Chagrinned, he turned away, trying not to blush by sheer force of will. "In ways you can't imagine." He answered without thinking. Why had he said that? He scowled inwardly. 

Tristan made a perfect O with his mouth. Then ducked away to hide a small laugh. "I see. So you're him." He surmised.

What? Shit he was really turning blue. "Him who?" He asked quickly, hissing in spite of himself. 

Tristan laughed a little louder. "Her ex. She doesn't talk about you, but everybody here knows. Small spaces are a breeding ground for gossip." Tristan poked him again. "What are you going to do?"

That was a good question, one he had no answer for yet. He didn't even know what he wanted to do, aside for ceasing the incessant anxiety that wormed through him every time he was anywhere near her, pushing his knees to bend until he was submitting to her, belly up. The urge to fold in supplication and beg was almost painful. He violently shoved that desire down with a growl. "Maybe nothing." He mused. "I really should leave." He never should have come here. What was he hoping to accomplish? 

"More like this." Hank was saying to the group. He'd joined Gabi in her lecture, and Connor looked on fondly from his perch on the balcony above them. Dude looked like a raptor the way his eyes scanned everything before falling back to the small gathering below him. They looked happy together. Before he'd come. It had been the 3 of them. He was the outsider, a thought that left him feeling lonely even though he'd been partners with Hank for 2 years, and had become the man's friend.

Tristan made a small shocked sound. "Can you leave? I'm sorry, I'm being intrusive, but I thought you were bonded to her." 

Raizen nodded pitifully. "I was."

"But not anymore? I thought it was permanent." Tristan prompted.

Raizen supposed he had no reason not to tell the other android, but he made a sour face anyway. "Not anymore." He echoed, running long fingers through his hair. "It can be reversed, after a fashion. Human's would call it surgery." Or maybe dialysis. 

Tristan was nodding enthusiastically. "On your thirium pump?"

Raizen sighed. "You have to flush the whole system. The pump, the regulator, everything." If an android was exhanguinated, for instance, it would remove the bond.

"Is that what you did?" Her voice rang high in his ears, screaming through his mind like a bottle rocket. "You just turned off your feelings like some kind of goddamn vampire?" _Dont look up, don't make eye contact._ Raizen glanced up at her lovely face, twisted with anger. _Fuck_! Connor was still perched on the balcony rail, legs crossed at the knees, arms crossed over his chest and _smirking_ like he'd been waiting for her to explode.

Raizen shot to his feet to keep from giving in to the instinct to submit. "It wasn't as simple as you think!" He growled back. An alarm was dinged in his HUD and he dismissed it without reading it.

She stepped into his space, fury burning away the pain in her eyes. He was slammed by her scent, crushing the air from his artificial lungs. Oh hell. The alarm went off again. Again he dismissed it. And stepped forward, bending low.

"I was born without the command program, but I wasn't _free_." He said finally. Something squirmed frantically in his belly. "I didn't know how to be, so I made you my master. Then I punished and resented you for it." His voice was a calm contrast to the venom in his words. 

Gabi looked like he'd slapped her, eyes filling with tears. She didn't care who was watching. She didn't care if she looked crazy or weak. She pressed her tongue to he teeth and tried not to scream. "That is so _fucked_ up..." a crowd had gathered, and they could've burst into flames for all she knew.

He reached forward slowly, trailing his fingers delicately down her face. "You did everything right, Gabriella." He caught the tear on her cheek. There was so much more they'd been meant to do, and they'd accomplished all of it. His HUD lit up, colors he had no names for dripping onto the white canvas of his mind, twisting his world in on itself, and she was so _beautiful_.

He pressed his forehead to hers, listening to her stuttering breath. "What are you doing to me?" He asked in confusion, allowing himself to lean forward and capture her mouth.

She didn't resist, frozen for a moment. She felt everything at once, sucking in a deep breath of his scent through her nose. It burned through her in waves of pure agony and furious joy. Tears slid down her face as she kissed him back, fingers carding through his hair and pulling him tighter. Was the rush in her ears a collective gasp from the crowd? Time crawled into a meaningless heap. 

For a moment they resonated, something between them cracking with power.

"I don't know." Was all she said as they parted. Was it hours, perhaps days later? Her lips were already swelling. Her chest ached. Her stomach bottomed out. Raizen's eyes were glowing...

Something in the android had switched gears and a deep booming vibration rang his body like a cannonball. The alarm was back, bypassing the prompt and something warm bloomed in the center of his chest. He looked over her shoulder at his brother. Connor was smiling as he leapt down and landed lightly on his feet. " _Finally_." He said as he made his way over.

He slid his arms around Gabi's waist, pressing a kiss to her shoulder before beaming up at Raizen.

"Welcome home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will say this now that the story is finished. I know authors talk about things like "talking into the void" in regards to comments. The first story had a few, and I can't honestly begin to describe the utter heartbreak I feel that this one has none. Because we can see public bookmarks, I saw some rather scathing comments about it from someone who seemed to love it initially. I do hope I've redeemed myself to that reader in this ending. 
> 
> I was demoralized a few times, in trying to write this, and I very nearly decided not to finish as the only pseudo feedback I have on it is not particularly happy. 
> 
> I hope in time someone will love it like I did. I am a novice writer, and admit my talents are limited, but I did my best. Thank you to everyone who's read it ♡


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